WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Chen

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◈ The Genius Knight of a Fallen Race ◈

Chapter 60: First Impressions Do Half the Work

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The man mocking Shan was a young man who looked to be in his early to mid-twenties.

His strong build beneath his flashy clothes and his well-trained arm muscles suggested he had undergone considerable training.

“Show some manners to our guest from afar, Baron Yurk.”

Silence fell over the banquet hall for a moment before Cladek spoke in a voice that seemed to restrain his anger.

Yet rather than shrinking back, Baron Yurk proudly lifted his chin.

“I didn't say anything wrong, did I, Brother-in-law? The only recent war in Pendia was that clash between the princes, and he didn't even take part in it. How could he have killed so many people while running away? It's not as if he rounded up farmers and cut them down.”

Judging from how he addressed Cladek as brother-in-law, the young baron was likely the countess's younger brother.

His words did have some logic behind them.

Unlike other countries, where bandits were everywhere and conflicts between people were common, Pendian warriors did not have many chances to kill people.

Even criminals had trouble leaving cities and villages to form gangs because monsters were so widespread.

Even if someone joined one of the rare wars, it was difficult to kill a hundred people. Since Shan had no known record of such a feat, there was plenty of room to dismiss his words as the boasting of a young boy.

The problem was that having doubts and voicing them openly were entirely different things.

To say to a knight in a place like this, “Aren't the exploits you're bragging about lies?” was a grave insult.

Every noble and knight nearby looked flustered by the remark. Even those who had viewed Shan unfavorably could not hide their discomfort.

For some reason, Shan also noticed the baron repeatedly glancing to the side.

As silence lingered, Shan chose his words before answering in a composed tone.

“I've never considered killing people something to be proud of. Young Lord Bluea asked, so I answered with what came to mind. If you're asking whether I truly have the skill to do such things, I'll show you myself.”

It was a polished way of saying, “Do you want to die?”

A smile appeared on the young baron's face, as though he had been waiting for that exact response.

“Just what I wanted. Let's see the skill of this knight from afar.”

“What method would you prefer?”

“Anything is fine. Jousting, swordsmanship, even a fistfight. You must be tired from your journey, so let's do it tomorrow.”

“I don't mind doing it right here.”

“Yurk! There is a limit to my patience! Leave this place at once!”

As the atmosphere suddenly turned as though a duel might break out, Cladek erupted and scolded the young baron.

Yurk looked toward the seat of honor with an unhappy expression, then deeply bowed his head.

“Yes, forgive me for ruining the mood. This hopeless fool will take his leave.”

“I'll find you tomorrow!”

After shouting that at Shan, he left the banquet hall.

* * *

Once the ruined banquet petered out, Cladek invited Shan and Serin to the reception room.

Then, to Shan's surprise, he bowed his head.

“I truly apologize for the rudeness, Sir Shan. I have no excuse.”

A high noble such as a count would normally be too proud to bow easily, even before a king.

Even Shan, who was less sensitive to rank than most, found the apology somewhat overwhelming.

Still, that was one thing. An apology from someone other than the person involved did not mean much.

“I don't think His Excellency has anything to apologize for. More importantly, that man just now must be...”

“My foolish brother-in-law. He is also one of the only four barons in Pales.”

Baron Yurk, Yurk Jul, was both a baron in his own right and Count Paless's brother-in-law. He was also renowned as the most skilled warrior in the land.

He possessed both power and martial strength, the two qualities men valued most.

“Oh...”

“Compared to proper knights from outside, he may be nothing but chaff. Still, he has played the neighborhood tyrant in this land for as long as anyone can remember. He was at least tolerable when my father-in-law was alive, but ever since he inherited his title a few years ago, his nose has been so high in the air that I can't control him at all.”

Cladek shook his head, saying that Yurk normally was not so rude as to cross the line completely. He could not understand why he had acted that way today.

“Yurk has always boasted that he could earn all the fame he wanted if he escaped this cramped little land of Pales. Then a famous knight from outside happened to arrive, so I suppose he wanted to prove his skill, even if it meant picking a fight.”

“I don't think that was all, Uncle.”

“What do you mean?”

Serin, who had been listening beside them, spoke with a tired expression.

“That man kept looking my way from the beginning of the banquet. After picking a fight with Sir Shan, he looked as though he wanted me to see how impressive he was...”

She let out a small sigh, as though the sight had been unbearable.

“Did he really think that looked cool?”

In other words, the reason the baron had suddenly picked a fight with Shan was that he wanted to look impressive to Serin.

Men often did all kinds of irrational, foolish things to catch a woman's attention.

He had apparently fallen in love with the princess at first sight, then wanted to defeat the knight from outside and show off what an impressive male he was. It all fit together perfectly.

Cladek looked even more troubled at the absurdity of the reason. After rubbing his face, he spoke to Shan.

“I cannot order the two of you not to fight. Sir Shan was the one whose honor was insulted first.”

If he used his authority as count to punish his own brother-in-law and prevent the fight, people would surely think Shan lacked the courage to fight and was hiding behind the count.

Once Yurk had openly picked a fight, the duel could not be avoided.

“Still... may I ask that you spare his life? He is terribly foolish, but he is my wife's only brother. He is also one of the few skilled knights in this land.”

Cladek could have spoken in the tone of a command, since Shan's group was effectively relying on him. Instead, he asked politely and bowed once more.

Shan was weak to people like that. He hesitated briefly, then nodded.

“Understood.”

“Thank you. That puts me at ease. As long as he is not crippled, I won't complain even if he is seriously injured. No, that might even be better... It may settle that colt-like temperament of his.”

His tone did not suggest he had even considered the possibility that Shan might lose.

To be fair, that was the usual reaction to a warrior who had slain an ogre.

Baron Yurk had simply made an irrational judgment because he was blinded by a woman.

Serin said she had more to discuss with the count, so Shan left the reception room first. There, he noticed someone lingering beside the door.

It was Bluea, the count's son.

“Ah, Sir Shan!”

“Were you here to see His Excellency?”

“No, I wanted to see you. That happened because I brought up something unnecessary earlier...”

Shan did not think the disturbance was the boy's fault.

Baron Yurk had seemed eager to pick a fight from the beginning.

As Shan stood quietly, the boy hesitated with a guilty expression before asking,

“You're fighting Uncle tomorrow, right?”

It took Shan a moment to understand who Bluea meant by uncle. Then he was reminded that the rude man from earlier was a close relative of this quiet boy.

Without a family of his own, Shan was often a step behind when it came to understanding the complicated family trees of noble houses.

“Yes.”

“Will you kill him?”

“No, I don't intend to kill him.”

“R-really?”

There was enough reason to kill Yurk, but Count Paless had asked him not to. Shan also felt uneasy at the thought of killing the close relative of a boy who admired him.

Had he not felt guilty when killing the capital's night watchmen simply because people there had once admired him?

At Shan's answer, Bluea placed a hand over his chest and let out a relieved sigh.

“What a relief...”

“You must be close.”

“Yeah. Father is busy, so Uncle spent a lot of time playing with me. We rode horses together and raced around. If he died because he fought with you over me, I would be really sad. I wish you two didn't have to fight, if possible.”

Though Bluea was still young, he seemed to understand that it could not be avoided in the current situation.

After talking a little longer and parting ways, Shan returned to the room assigned to him and lay on the bed.

‘It's complicated. Someone bad to one person can be good to someone else.’

Long ago, he could judge everyone simply.

Those who treated him well were friends. Those who pointed swords at him were enemies who deserved to be torn apart and killed.

Once he defined people that way, there was nothing to worry about.

Yet as he grew older and met more people, the world became more complicated.

He suddenly thought of the families of the Alto explorers he had killed in the past.

Was considering things one by one like this part of becoming an adult?

Perhaps someday, he might become unable to kill anyone carelessly...

As he spent the day lost in thought, Roden and the others arrived in Pales City later that evening.

Unlike Shan and Serin, who had come by carriage, they had washed, eaten, and rested at the harbor before walking for several hours.

Quite a few people had arrived, but there was no immediate issue with lodging because the count had cleared unused spaces such as the castle tower in advance.

In the long term, though, they would have to build homes for themselves.

After Roden came up to the castle, Shan received a brief report about the minor events of the journey. He then told Roden what had happened at the banquet.

Roden let out a small sigh.

“Trouble already, the moment we get here.”

“Tell me about it.”

“Well, it doesn't seem entirely bad.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. The princess and the count both want you to lead Pales's army in the future, right? You need authority for that. Your reputation from outside is all well and good, but people only believe what they see with their own eyes.”

Roden believed that overwhelmingly defeating the strongest warrior in Pales would be an opportunity to raise both Shan's and Serin's authority.

“Looking at it that way, we should almost be grateful that he picked a fight.”

“But killing him would be a problem. You'd lose the count's trust, and the other influential people in Pales would think poorly of you too.”

“I know. I said I wouldn't kill him.”

Everyone asking whether he planned to kill Yurk made Shan feel as if they thought he was some kind of murderer. He shook his head with an unhappy expression.

“I just plan to make sure he learns his lesson. If he stays that defiant, he won't be of any use in a future fight.”

Sir Darkal had said that allies should not be persuaded with violence, but Shan believed that even he would understand if he saw a fool like Yurk.

At the very least, Shan intended to teach him a lesson harsh enough that he would never dare meet Shan's eyes again.

It absolutely was not because that bastard had looked pleased with himself while showing interest in Serin.

* * *

The next day, after finishing breakfast and waiting for it to settle, Shan headed to the training grounds within Count Paless's castle.

Count Paless, his retainers, and the territory's leading officials were already there.

Baron Yurk, Yurk Jul, Shan's opponent, was warming up by lightly swinging his sword.

“You're late. I thought you might have run away.”

“As if I would.”

Ignoring the provocation, Shan loosened up with a few light movements.

Soon afterward, the count, acting as the referee, personally proposed the rules for the duel.

“First, we must decide the condition for victory... I believe the one-drop rule would be best.”

The one-drop rule was simple. Whoever bled first lost.

It was the most suitable method for avoiding someone dying because of an accidental mistake during a duel.

Shan objected.

“I would rather use the combat incapacity rule.”

“Isn't that excessive?”

“It is fine. I can control myself well enough.”

As the name suggested, combat incapacity meant that the person who could no longer fight lost.

Death, unconsciousness, or declaring defeat.

It was a rule normally used only by people so consumed by ill will that they could not bear to let the other live.

“You...”

“You aren't scared, are you?”

Provoked by Shan's calm words, Yurk flared up and nodded.

He was likely conscious of Serin watching from beside the count, shielding herself from the sunlight with a parasol.

Next, they decided on a sword duel using blunted feather swords, sparring in ordinary clothes without armor.

They could use Spirit to knock aside or break the other person's weapon, but stabbing or cutting the body was forbidden.

Yurk had no reason to object, since he knew Shan possessed an excellent magic device.

Once every rule had been decided, the two swordsmen faced each other.

Using feather swords did not lessen the tension.

A knight could easily kill an unarmored person by channeling Spirit through steel.

“Hoo...”

Yurk took a deep breath as he faced his opponent, shaking off the tension lingering in his body.

Yes, he could win.

Shan might brag about all kinds of accomplishments, but he was still a little brat at least half a head shorter than Yurk.

Praised as a genius since childhood, Yurk had never faced an equal in Pales.

He had occasionally sailed outside to hunt monsters and had even killed trolls. The only thing he lacked compared to the brat before him was the chance to encounter truly powerful monsters.

“Begin!”

At the count's declaration, Shan and Yurk approached each other.

Yurk carefully raised his sword overhead, but Shan simply walked forward, holding the longsword that required two hands in one hand.

It was not a stance that could be called a fighting posture.

Veins bulged on Yurk's face.

‘Does he think I'm a joke? I'll start by wrecking one of his arms!’

The moment he stepped forward, he unleashed the swordsmanship he had honed for more than a decade.

Since the feather sword was faster than an ordinary longsword, its speed was beyond what ordinary people could even see.

The gathered spectators gasped.

“Urk!”

Yet after the clang of steel striking steel, a low, deep cry echoed across the dueling ground.

Yurk staggered backward, struck precisely in the shoulder by Shan's sword tip.

“One.”

Still holding a two-handed sword in one hand, Shan caught Yurk's attack by placing his sword at exactly the right point, then counterattacked at the same time.

It was a technique possible only because the difference between their skill was as vast as heaven and earth.

Enraged, Yurk swung again, but the result did not change.

Downward cuts, thrusts, diagonal slashes, upward cuts...

Against every flashy strike, Shan only extended his feather sword forward, blocked at the right moment, and thrust back.

With the sword placed at the right time and in the right position, neither strength nor speed was necessary.

By the principle of leverage, even little force could overwhelm an opponent.

There was no point in channeling Spirit into his sword to cut through or break Shan's weapon either.

Each time, Shan channeled the will not to break into his own sword and blocked it.

Before long, Yurk staggered backward, his body covered in bruises.

“W-what is this...?”

It felt as though he was fighting some kind of mage instead of a swordsman.

Once Yurk realized that his opponent's skill was beyond anything he could face, defeat darkened his expression.

He had to lose to such a small boy in front of Count Paless, those he knew, and the girl he had fallen in love with at first sight?

It was an unbearable situation, but even a fool could see the overwhelming difference in their skill.

Of course, everyone had known that from the beginning. He was simply the only fool who had not.

As his opponent hesitantly backed away, Shan gripped his sword with both hands for the first time.

“This should have shown the difference in our skill clearly enough.”

“W-wait...”

Yurk instinctively realized it.

He needed to declare defeat immediately, turn around, and run.

Yet the moment he opened his mouth, Shan's sword struck his lips with perfect accuracy.

It moved at a speed completely unlike the loose motions from earlier.

With a muffled scream, several white teeth flew from his mouth.

“Mmph!”

“Teeth can grow back with healing miracles, so it's fine if a few break...”

Yurk covered his agonizing mouth with his left hand, threw down his sword, and raised his right hand.

Holding an open hand high in the air was the way to declare surrender when one could not speak.

But when his hand was halfway raised, Shan's sword struck his shoulder with perfect accuracy and dislocated the joint.

His right arm went limp with a burning sensation, and tears welled in both eyes.

“Uuurgh!”

“How dare you try to surrender without my permission?”

The third strike hit his shin.

One leg broke, and Yurk could no longer support himself. He collapsed helplessly to the ground.

He had already dropped his sword, and blood was pouring from where he had been struck. If the rules had not been combat incapacity, the duel would have been declared over at once.

Yet Shan mercilessly continued beating the fallen Yurk.

He broke every bone in his body while ensuring he did not lose consciousness.

After the shoulder came the elbow, the forearm, then the fingers, each one breaking apart.

Then his ribs, thigh, and instep...

It was more terrifying because Shan's control was so precise that it felt as though only the bones were breaking.

Shan heard people around him asking whether someone should stop this, but he did not halt his sword.

‘Save me, save me!’

Yurk mumbled through his crushed teeth. He covered his lips with his hand, but only after another blow broke the back of that hand did he curl up on the ground, unable even to make a sound.

As his limbs were crushed and he was beaten without the ability to resist, a firm hand grabbed Yurk by the hair.

Dragged along, pain surged through every broken bone in his body, and an animalistic howl escaped him.

Holding Yurk by the hair, Shan walked a few steps and shoved his face into the ground.

The thick smell of urine filled Yurk's nose.

When he realized it was his own urine, spilled as he had been beaten, shame and anger rose within him.

Yet the moment he struggled to lift his head and met Shan's two green eyes, every emotion turned to fear.

Yurk could not even dare meet Shan's gaze. He hung his head deeply, and Shan smiled in satisfaction as he raised his sword.

“Good. Unless you're a monkey, you should remember this well enough.”

With that incomprehensible mutter, Shan struck the back of Yurk's head and finally knocked him unconscious.

* * *

The dueling ground, where dozens had gathered, was so silent it felt empty.

Looking down at Yurk, unconscious with his head buried in his own urine, Shan was privately impressed.

‘He's quite skilled, more than I expected.’

Shan had thought Yurk was only an arrogant idiot who strutted around Pales. Yet this level of skill was enough for him to make a name for himself even among Pendian knights.

Of course, he was still pathetic compared to the royal knights.

Having finished his brief assessment, Shan approached Cladek, placed his sword against the ground, and respectfully bowed his head.

“It is over, His Excellency.”

“Ah... The duel is hereby declared a victory for Shan of House Barendil. As announced beforehand, the defeated Baron Yurk must later visit him and formally apologize for his rudeness.”

As the count spoke, Shan looked over the nobles and knights of Pales gathered around him.

Every one of them avoided his eyes.

It seemed he had certainly made a first impression.

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