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Chapter 155
Fighting Julian ②
Translated by AmaLynne
“Hahahaha! These are swordsmen who are renowned for killing wizards! They may call themselves court wizards, but if you don’t let them use magic, they’re nothing!”
Julian’s high-pitched laugh echoes as the swordsmen charge straight at Sam.
“――hah…”
Even without being told, a wizard’s inability to use magic is fatal.
However, it was mind-boggling to think that they had done nothing to counteract this.
Only five swordsmen of this caliber?
He was not afraid of the swordsmen who would just charge at him without any coordination.
After activating his body enhancement magic, Sam kicked the ground.
He came up to the swordsman in front of him and slammed his fist into the stunned man’s face.
*Crunch*, the man’s face shatters and blood spurts out.
The man whose face was crushed let out an inaudible scream, let go of the sword, and flailed about on the spot, holding his face.
“――ha?”
Sam hears someone make a short, dumb noise, but ignores it and closes in on the next swordsman.
He unleashes an enhanced kick, shatters the knee, and before he loses his balance and falls, he grabs the man’s face and slams him directly to the ground.
A web-like crack runs through the ground and the ground caves in.
When he is sure that the man, who has stopped twitching, has his white eyes peeled back, he begins to fight off the third man.
“―― Hiii!”
The third man was a two-sword swordsman. But he was so frightened that he was not even holding his sword.
Sam smashed his blade with his hand, picked up a splinter that was waiting in midair, and thrust it into his stomach.
He stomps on the face of the man, who rolls on the ground screaming, silencing him.
“Next.”
The fourth and fifth men came at the same time, so Sam responded in the same way.
With his enhanced kinetic vision, their movements were slow and tedious.
Sighing at their slow and dull movements, which seemed as if they were standing still, Sam kicked one in the jaw with the toe of his right foot and then swung his raised foot down on the other one.
The man was hit on the top of the head with a heel drop and slammed to the ground.
“――Wha!?”
Julian let out a short voice as the five were silenced in the blink of an eye.
“Hah, too weak. If you want to kill me, bring a thousand more with you.”
It is unclear whether the swordsmen are alive or dead.
They came with the intention of killing, so they would have been prepared to be killed.
But even though they were wizard killers, they were too weak.
It was clearly a letdown.
Julian was bragging about it, so Sam thought it must be a strong swordsman, but he was just a small fry.
“What? Huh? Huh? No, that’s absurd. They are all famous swordsmen!”
“You’re taking everything too easy on me. I don’t need to use magic on them.”
“That’s absurd!”
“I’m fighting with Lise-sama every day. At least bring someone as good as she is.”
The five swordsmen who had just fought were not even close to Lise’s level.
The actual battle experience seemed to have been there, but it was not enough to deal with Sam.
“――I was told that you were outclassed by a swordsman of Liese’s caliber!”
“Hah? Don’t you know what Lise-sama is capable of?”
Julien said “Lise’s caliber,” but Lise is strong.
She is the one who defeated Sam repeatedly even when he used physical reinforcement. Knowing her ability, Sam could never say that she was just “Lise’s caliber,” even if he wanted to.
“Saying this may sound like a sore loser, but there’s a reason why I can’t beat Lise-sama in a hand-to-hand contest.”
Sam had been defeated in a series of hand-to-hand combat with Lise and Hanar, but both knew that there was a difference between『hand-to-hand combat』and『actual combat』.
If Sam fights them intending to kill them, he will win for sure.
The reason why he did not do so was that it was a training session and a place for Sam to polish his skills.
Sam is fighting not with the skills he has cultivated up to now, but with the skills, he has learned from the girls. Fighting under such circumstances, it is no wonder he is defeated.
Apparently, Julien had gotten information about Sam’s defeat against them from somewhere, but he had underestimated Lise and her colleagues, including their abilities, to his advantage.
It was truly comical to see a person who could not think things through.
“Don’t get carried away! Do you think you can beat me just by defeating these swordsmen?　I’ll take the fight to them myself! You should be honored!”
Julian’s voice lost all reserve.
He pulled his sword from his waist and held it at the ready.
Sam, too, clenched his fists and readied himself.
“Come on. Let’s get this charade over with.”
“ ――Prepare yourself. HeyaaaaAAAAAAAAAA!”
Julian shouts and kicks the ground.
“Hm?”
Sam felt a sense of discomfort as Julian came toward him.
(――So slow!)
Slow. Too slow.
No matter how long it took, he was not getting any closer.
His movements were far inferior to those of Lise and Hanae, as well as the swordsmen from earlier.
“Heyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”
Julian, who had finally reached Sam’s eye, swung his sword down with great vigor.
But although his momentum was as strong as anyone else’s, his sword speed was still slow.
Julian’s blows are neither fast nor sharp, and they are so slow that you may yawn.
He was able to avoid it with a little time to spare.
“――Ha, it was just a fluke that you avoided it!”
Sword blows were coming from above and below, and from both sides, but Sam was able to avoid them with just his upper body movements without using his legs.
His movements were slow, but since the only part he was aiming at was the neck, he didn’t even feel the need to see through the attack.
“Hah, hah, hah, you seem to be doing all you can to escape, but how long do you think you can keep your strength up?”
“No, you’re the one who’s out of breath.”
“It’s time to get serious.”
“What, you’ve been slacking off? I’m surprised.”
Inwardly, he was relieved.
He was too weak, no matter how much he tried.
It was hard to believe that a person who claimed to be a candidate for the title of『Sword Saint』and was so confident of his abilities could be so weak, but if he had cut corners, it was understandable.
Though the reason for cutting corners is beyond comprehension.
“HaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAA!”
Julien kicked the ground again, releasing a spirited shout.
However, there was no change in his movement.
(Nothing has changed! What? What is this? A candidate for the successor to the sword saint can’t be this weak, can he? That means something behind, right?)
Sam’s anger was rising.
Sam shouted at Julian, who was really acting like a fool and thrust out his fist.
“Enough! Come here!”
The next moment.
“Bueeh!”
“Hah?”
Sam’s fist, which was just an ordinary thrust, caught Julian in the face.
Sam could feel his nose being crushed and his teeth breaking through his fist.
“You’re kidding, right?”
Sam, stunned and unable to hide his bewilderment, muttered to himself…
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAHH! My nose, my teeth!”
Julian’s screams were heard.