Chapter: 9 Chivalry (2)
As Dulahan dismounted, Leon realized he had been right.
“Indeed, an honorable knight.”
Leon summoned a sword from thin air, an iron blade worn but strong.
He wore no armor since the armor forged by Heto, the god of iron and smiths, had crumbled after so many years of war.
Leon looked at Dulahan, who held a greatsword in one hand and clasped his head around his waist, and offered a word of consideration.
“You can put your head down. Your swordsmanship, by nature, is two-handed. A true duel is not complete unless you use both hands.”
“……I, Your Majesty.”
Just then, Ha-ri cautiously approached.
“What is it?”
“That… Dulahan, he won’t die unless his head is cut off.”
“So?”
How the hell are you supposed to defeat Dulahan without cutting off his head?
“It doesn’t matter. It’s a knight’s honor to fight to the death.”
No, so he won’t die? After thinking about his words, Dulahan left his head to the skeletons and gripped his sword with both hands.
“First Knight of Arianna, Goddess of Light and Justice, Grand Duke of Dragonia and King of the Lionheart I grant the honorable knight the challenge.”
No sooner had the anachronistic introduction and misplaced proclamation ended that Dulahan, who had closed the distance in an instant despite his creaking armor, slashed down with his greatsword.
There was a dizzying thud, but Leon was unscathed as blade after blade pushed against each other in a power struggle.
Leon’s sword was an ordinary long sword. Dulahan’s sword, on the other hand, was a greatsword that could have been twice that size but even with the advantage of the top-heavy stance, Leon doesn’t flinch.
‘What power…….’
In terms of power, Leon was overpowering Dulahan. In fact, he’s the one with the advantage in this situation.
Dulahan puts his hand on the blade of his sword, ready to strike. But in the blink of an eye, Leon sidesteps the blade, and in a flash, he’s driving his sword into Dulahan’s chest with a quick burst.
“One strike.”
There was no mistaking what that declaration meant as Dulahan took two steps back and swung his greatsword with all the force he could muster.
It was a blast that would shatter any defense but Leon parried it with his blade at first, then crushed it with his pommel as the greatsword was embedded deep in the ground.
-……!
In the next moment, a kick strikes Dulahan in the chest. It’s more of a shove than a swift kick but somehow, though, Dulahan’s stance collapses and he falls on his ass.
The sword is pointed straight up, and Leon says.
“Two strikes.”
Watching the sequence, the Hunters didn’t understand what had just happened.
Leon’s kick looked more like a light shove, and yet Dulahan’s stance collapsed.
To the casual observer, it would have looked like Dulahan was letting Leon off the hook.
“What the hell just happened?”
“……It’s great.”
“Ha-ri?”
Of all of them, Ha-ri was the one who had understood what happened.
She’s been training with a sword for a long time, as an aspiring kendo player since she was a child.
You’d think that since it’s a sport of boxing and swordsmanship, she’d just need to be good with her fists and swords, but in any martial art, there are certain things that are emphasized like how to shift your center of gravity and how to move your lower body.
Whether it’s throwing a light jab or parrying a hit it all starts with the lower body’s center of gravity and what Leon did was to disrupt that center of gravity.
‘At first glance, it looks like he’s concentrating on his right foot, which is the one that’s doing the kicking, but it’s actually his left foot that’s on the ground, and he’s using his magic to create a pocket in the ground that creates a small vibration in a 2.5-meter radius.’
A technique that shakes the ground with just the force of the footstep it’s a double-edged sword, as it disrupts your opponent’s stance while also disrupting your own but Leon did it so effortlessly and broke Dulahan’s stance.
The kick for the person with a collapsed center of gravity is nothing more than a slight push to the person standing at the edge of the cliff.
It was an intricate technique, but he had executed it effortlessly in such a short time.
“Regain your stance.”
Dulahan limped back to his feet.
* * * *
Knight Dulahan was a knight who sought honor and glory.
He was cursed by the Commander Mage to lead an army but now free of his bindings, all he can do is stay in this unknown place and repel invaders.
Repeating that task, he commanded an army to repel the invaders again.
Some of the invaders were strong, but none were great.
“Excellent!”
Except for one man, the one who called himself Leon Dragonia Lionheart and He boldly demanded a duel as a knight.
It had been a long time since someone calling himself a knight asked for a duel but it was most likely a ploy to get out of the predicament he’s in.
Anyone who had been asked to dismount would have judged him as such but Dulahan would be furious at such foolishness, telling them not to sully his knightly honor.
Look at him, look at that knight with his upright posture of a veteran of countless battlefields and the eyes of a star, seeking honor and fame.
He is the end of honor for knights. The king of knights, the one all knights should look up to and challenge.
How can anyone look at him and think of such a trick?
“That’s three times. Will you do it again?”
-…….
The third death.
A casual observer would have said that the armor would have stopped it anyway but Dulahan knew that if this man wanted to kill him, he could have done so at any time.
This knight, the idol of all knights, had taught him and honored him therefore Dulahan could not help but be impressed by the knight.
This knight, this Lionheart King…treats his demotion to commander with honor.
He had great powers as a Commander Knight since Commander Armor canceled 80% of all physical damage, black magic and many other powerful powers he gained as a Commander Knight but he didn’t want to use any of them.
He just wanted to be a knight, straight and true, clashing sword to sword, without any sorcery.
Again and again, again and again, he wanted to cross swords with this man just as he had done with other knights of renown who had once roamed the world with honor but are now forgotten.
“Ten times. Your swordsmanship is becoming more and more sophisticated. Have you managed to retrieve your memories?”
Dulahan realized the knight’s intentions.
He was treating him as a knight, not as a wretched servant of a warlock, and restoring him to his glory days.
“What more can you do, knight?”
Dulahan had the skeletons bring him his head, then he dropped to one knee and offered it up. It was the perfect surrender, putting himself at their disposal.
“Excellent. I am pleased to see your honor restored.”
Leon placed his hands on Dulahan’s head with both hands and spoke in a pious voice.
“I will pray for you. If there is a god you believe in, may he give your soul rest. If not, may the Goddess guide you to the edge of the garden.”
No matter how long he spent killing or how many times he fought without honor.
“May we meet at the table of the gods, fine knight.”
Dulahan was overwhelmed by this knight who treated him as a knight, prayed for him, and blessed him.
“Let there be light.”
Leon’s hand glowed and Dulahan sensed the warm glow guiding him.
In his final moments, Dulahan destroyed all the skeletons and bowed in worship to Leon.
-Glory be to Leon Dragonia Lionheart!
His silent reverence echoed through the dungeon.
* * * *
Dungeon Boss Commander Knight Dulahan has fallen.
Normally, that’s not the end of the story because even after defeating the boss, if there were any monsters left, you’d need to take some time to clean them up.
“He… kept his promise.”
“Gee, he really did…end it in a duel.”
In his final moment Dulahan destroyed the skeletons’ army with his own will.
Sincerely subdued, he bowed to Leon in worship, accepting his fate.
“What was that light just now? I thought he said, ‘Let there be light’.”
“Isn’t that ……divine power?”
There is no divine power among the Awakened. Even the survivors, who have claimed that gods exist, have been unable to provide evidence of their existence.
But the power that Leon had just used to cleanse Dulahan once and for all was inexplicable unless it was the holy power of the gods, the natural enemies of the undead and demons of novels and comics.
“Uh… if you have such a skill, why don’t you use it?”
Ha-ri couldn’t say it out loud, but she said what anyone would have thought.
“Then this honorable knight will meet his end as a Commander.”
To remind Dulahan of his knighthood? To accept his own death?
“A knight is by nature a man of honor and reputation. Honor comes from deeds, and deeds come from the discipline of the will. A noble knight would have done just that.”
Ha-ri didn’t fully understand Leon’s words but there was so much she wanted to talk about like the uncertain possibilities, the harm that could come from failure, irrational behavior and illogical arguments that don’t calculate risk but it didn’t seem necessary to say it out loud because this man, even with all that he knew, would act as if it was natural.
He uses emotion instead of reason and intuition instead of logic, that’s something many know but not many can follow.
“Hmm, now let’s go take the spoils.”
“Uh… what?”
“If there has been a battle, then there must be spoils, so lead the way. You’ll have to figure out what’s valuable.”
That day, as the dungeon closed, the Association Hunters received unexpected loot.
[Dulahan’s Cloak]
[Dulahan’s Greatsword]
[Commander’s Gem]
Other items were hastily picked up after the dungeon boss died.
“Wow, look at this gem, it’s got a lot of magic power in it, even if it’s fake, it’ll be worth a lot if we sell it──”
“It’s a piece of trash. This stuff will only cause trouble.”
[Knight’s Cloak], [Dulahan’s Greatsword], magic stones and more. Although there was some commotion during the looting process, the clearing of the Hunan Plains Gate was a success.
Not only did they cleanse the plains of miasma pollution and perfectly handled the scarlet-ranked gate, they also witnessed an incredible miracle in the form of the Blessed Rice.
The Firebird Guild and Yong-wan gritted their teeth and returned home, but for now, it was time to celebrate with everyone. However, the problem came from an unexpected source.
“I… Your Majesty, don’t you have to pay taxes?”
“Uh-huh! How can a king tax the king of another country? This is my own spoils, and it is against the law to tax it!”
“Ah, no, you don’t have to pay the tax in cash; you can substitute the tax with a magic stone from that loot…….”
“Kings don’t count coins. How can you argue with a king about what lesser men should do?”
“Then, your majesty, what shall we report to the president?!”
“There is nothing to report; it is better that we respect each other’s honor.”
“You mean you won’t pay a penny in taxes?”
“Stop talking about coins. It’s demeaning.”
The staff of the Hunter Association looked at Leon, who was arguing back and forth, and thought in unison.
‘This bastard…isn’t he even worse than the Firebird Guild?’
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