WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Dionysus

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 203: An Unexpected Encounter (2)

──────

Swoooosh!

A sword came flying at him, terrifyingly fast.

It was not merely fast.

Aura carrying a fierceness unlike anything he had seen before came at him with a vicious howl.

‘If I can’t stop it, I’m finished!’

There was no time to think. Airen Farreira hurriedly took his stance.

He could not receive it while standing squarely. Remembering that the best defense was an attack, he swung his sword to meet it.

Craaaash!

“Urgh!”

“...”

A groan slipped through his clenched teeth. Airen took three steps back, his face twisting into a grimace.

His palm and wrist throbbed.

It was not simply that he had been overpowered. At the moment their swords collided, he felt as though the point of impact had somehow been thrown off.

It was probably his opponent’s technique.

‘As expected of the head of one of the Five Great Sword Houses...’

Fortunately, Joshua Lindsay did not immediately follow up with another attack.

That thought quickly changed.

After watching Airen for a moment, Joshua lowered his gaze to his own sword.

The head of the house, who had remained coldly silent, muttered under his breath.

“I didn’t think you’d be able to block that...”

“...”

Had Joshua just launched an attack Airen could not have blocked?

Airen wore a dumbfounded expression. Joshua Lindsay smiled faintly before speaking.

“I’m joking. I only wanted to see how skilled you are. Unless I put some strength behind it, I can’t properly judge your ability.”

“...I see.”

“Right. So let’s continue a little longer. Think of it as an instructional spar, and don’t feel pressured...”

Thoom!

Before he could finish speaking, Joshua Lindsay lunged forward.

Still looking utterly bewildered, Airen swung his sword to meet him.

This was absurd.

Airen had received countless instructional spars, but he had never seen someone more skilled than him attack first.

Everyone had let him make the first move, allowing him to demonstrate his swordsmanship comfortably and without restraint.

‘This isn’t an instructional spar. He’s definitely attacking with personal feelings behind it!’

Realizing that, Airen gritted his teeth.

He still had no idea what was going on.

But he understood one thing. He would be in serious trouble if he did not use every ounce of strength he had.

His mind sharpened. Airen drew up all his Aura and met Joshua’s attack with the Metal energy of the Five Elements Divine Technique.

His already heavy sword grew even heavier.

Bang!

Boom!

Craaaash!

Left, right, right again, then left.

Joshua’s attacks poured in from both sides.

Airen met each strike before his opponent’s full strength could settle into it, bracing his Core and lower body to keep from losing ground.

Crackle, crackle. The ground beneath his feet was gouged into furrows. Still, thanks to his desperate effort, he was not pushed back far.

Joshua’s eyes widened as he drew in a breath.

Wooooooong!

An even stronger force gathered around the sword raised high above him.

Wind. A typhoon.

Airen felt every hair on his body stand on end before the Sky Sword, which whirled as though it would grind everything in its path to dust.

He could not block this!

Sensing the danger, Airen abandoned his stubbornness and retreated.

Having cast aside all hesitation, he moved cleanly. That decision saved him.

Joshua Lindsay’s descending Sky Sword swallowed the spot where Airen had been standing.

Kwarararararang!

It was a horrifying sight.

Airen swallowed hard at the power of the Sky Sword, which looked as if it had stripped away the very skin of the earth.

Did Joshua trust him enough not to hold back? Or did Joshua simply not care what happened to him?

Airen thought it was probably the former, but he could not shake his unease.

He raised his head and looked at Joshua Lindsay.

Joshua gave him a faint smile.

“Yes, you should be at least this capable if you want to walk beside my daughter.”

“W-wait...”

“Wait for what? I have plenty of time!”

Craaaash!

Joshua brushed off Airen’s words and swung his sword again. A terrifying force flew toward him from afar.

Aura Manifestation.

And not ordinary Aura, either. It carried the force of a raging gale.

Airen staggered as though caught in a natural disaster, then widened his eyes and bit down on his lower lip.

‘Focus!’

The salty taste of blood filled his mouth as he steadied himself.

He did not know Joshua Lindsay’s true feelings.

Still, one thing was certain. There was an instructional quality to Joshua’s sword.

It was rougher and more threatening than even Karakum, the Great Warrior of Durkali. Yet that very quality was awakening something stronger within him.

His blood boiled. The flame rising in his heart heated his entire body and sharpened his senses.

His will of iron, once only hard and rigid, met Fire Energy and changed into something sharper and more refined.

A sword blade.

No, something even more graceful. Airen, now bearing wings of steel, began advancing through the typhoon.

Pang!

Paaang!

“...!”

For the first time, Joshua Lindsay looked surprised as he watched the young man approach him, wrapped in golden Aura.

Airen was not simply breaking through Joshua’s wind with brute strength. Joshua’s gaze no longer saw Airen, but the past from four hundred years ago.

His ancestor, who had not lost himself even before the gale unleashed by the Dragon King, steadily advancing along his own path like a butterfly of steel!

This was the secret teaching of House Lindsay. The ultimate principle of the Sky Sword.

And that brat was using it...

‘Illia! You even taught him the Sky Sword!’

Whoooosh!

Joshua Lindsay’s presence grew stronger. An oppressive, overwhelming force spread out as though it would dominate every inch of the training ground.

House Lindsay did not prevent exchanges with outsiders. Stagnant water was bound to rot.

If someone gained something through discussions, sword debates, and spars with other swordsmen, and their opponent in turn came to understand the true meaning of the Sky Sword, there was no reason to stop that.

It had been the will of Dion Lindsay, the first head of the house. Joshua Lindsay had no intention of blaming Airen for it.

No, that was not true.

He wanted to blame him, ancestor’s will or not.

The father, his eyes filled with rage, charged forward with a burning shout.

“Haaah!”

“...!”

Airen’s eyes hardened.

The hand gripping his sword, his Core, his feet. Every bit of strength he could summon rose to its peak.

His body, Aura, the Five Elements Divine Technique, and even the Heart Sword he had only begun to understand.

Airen brought all of them into harmony in an instant. Clenching his teeth so hard they felt ready to break, he swung his sword.

Craaaaaaaaaash!

A tremendous metallic roar shook the surroundings as Airen was sent flying into the distance.

Only then did Joshua Lindsay regain his senses, sharply sucking in a breath.

“...Oh dear.”

Regret appeared on his face.

Airen had been holding out rather well, so Joshua had continued increasing his strength. Then he realized that Airen’s relationship with his daughter seemed closer than he had expected, and he had used too much force.

If he had not loosened his grip at the very end, something truly terrible could have happened.

Even now, the situation did not look good. Joshua stared stiffly toward where Airen had flown.

Then a familiar voice came from behind him.

“Airen!”

“...My daughter?”

Joshua was startled.

He had thought Illia had gone to rest with Emma. Yet she had appeared here.

More importantly, she had called Airen’s name, not his, and run toward him.

“Airen, are you okay? Wake up.”

“Urgh...”

Airen Farreira groaned, apparently still conscious.

Joshua Lindsay could not feel relieved. He only watched Airen slowly rise with heated eyes.

Illia looked at her father as though he were ridiculous.

“Dad? Weren’t you having an instructional spar?”

“That’s right, but...”

“No, why would you do this in a spar...? No, Emma!”

As if her father were unimportant right now, Illia Lindsay urgently called for the guard knight.

Emma Garcia passed Joshua Lindsay and quietly said,

“Don’t say anything strange and make this worse. Just stay quiet.”

“...”

In the end, Joshua had no choice but to keep his mouth shut until Emma Garcia finished providing first aid and helped Airen up.

His gaze fell upon his daughter’s face, clouded with concern.

She looked more serious than when she had first seen him in two years.

“Airen, are you really okay?”

“I’m fine. Really.”

“But...”

“You don’t need to support me, either. I can walk on my own.”

As if he truly were fine, Airen Farreira sat down and rose again two or three times.

After giving Illia a gentle look, he approached Joshua Lindsay.

With bright eyes, he bowed politely.

“Thank you. I learned a great deal from that spar.”

“...”

“I know this is an unreasonable request, but... could you give me another instructional spar next time?”

“...”

“I now have an even greater reason to become strong. Please.”

Airen Farreira bowed deeply once more.

Illia, who had come to stand beside him, mouthed the words.

‘Just say yes already, Dad.’

After a moment of hesitation, Joshua Lindsay answered with a displeased expression.

“...Very well. Come here every day at seven in the evening.”

“Thank you. Thank you so much!”

“...That’s enough gratitude. Emma.”

“Yes.”

“I need to rest. Take care of my daughter.”

With those words, Joshua turned away.

His face was even more hardened than when he had first met Airen Farreira.

And his eyes burned fiercely.

As the father turned away from his beloved daughter, he thought,

‘I knew they were close, but...’

Joshua Lindsay did not actually dislike Airen Farreira.

Emma Garcia had told him that Illia’s condition had improved greatly because of Airen.

That Illia Lindsay, who had always been anxious, restless, and burdened by obsession, had begun to smile brightly because of that young man.

It was a good thing. Clearly, it was a good thing.

But...

‘Becoming more than good friends is... a different matter.’

That was right. Absolutely right.

Joshua nodded to himself and glanced back.

His daughter was still getting along well with that brat.

‘He asked me for more instructional spars?’

Fine.

He would give him exactly what he wanted.

But he had better not regret it. It would be far harsher than he expected.

‘I’ll show you hell.’

A father’s wrath, hotter than anyone else’s, burned through his entire body.

Having made up his mind, Joshua clenched his fist with crushing force.

* * *

At that time.

In the deepest part of the Ancient Forest in the south of the continent lay a place shrouded in endless darkness.

The Jester Demon awakened within the new body that had slept there and scratched its mask with a finger.

Before it stood a man in immaculate priestly robes that did not suit the surroundings at all.

The man spoke.

“I need your help.”

Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried