Conquering the Academy with Just a Sashimi Kn*fe Chapter 29

Episode 29 Preparation (4)

The uneasy gazes surrounding me. Something mixed with jealousy and anger.

The cadets’ lively gazes made the back of my neck tingle. Voices mixed with gossip flew into my ears.

I focused my gaze on the swordsman. His motionless pupils were sharply squinted as if he was assessing his opponent.

His muscles were tense as if he was facing a rival. The swordsman drew his sword handle in a strong stance.

Kiririn―

A clear, sharp light spread like the dew at dawn.

Cheers from all over the place filled the training ground. The cadets who had chosen their swords looked at their own swords and the sword master’s swords alternately. The eyes of the students from other classes who were watching from the stands also widened.

It was clearly an ordinary iron sword, but when he held it, the blade glowed and sparkled like a sword of great power.

I closed my eyes and opened them. A man who was close to the pinnacle of swordsmanship was looking at me. The air around me felt heavy. The flow of the wind had been artificially changed.

There was nothing to criticize, from the spacing of his feet, to the grip on the hilt, to the angle of the tip of the sword aimed precisely at me.

The chaos that could not be quelled even by Lee Won-bin’s sanctions suddenly became calm. Everyone, including me, took a deep breath and looked at the swordsman as if they were admiring a statue.

“Are the bones healing now, boy?”

The swordsman’s voice woke me up from my dazed expression.

“Yeah, well… it’s okay now.”

“Then I will take up the sword.”

I thought. No matter how much it was a sparring match, this wasn’t it. It wasn’t because I had just been discharged from the hospital. My body was in perfect condition after getting some rest.

Moreover, perhaps due to the influence of the swordsman’s protection, his instincts were crying out for victory. However, the string of reason that he was barely holding onto rejected it.

The opponent is the swordsman Siegfried von Nibelung.

If you come face to face with him, it’s clear that it won’t end well. At least one of you will lose a hand if you’re lucky, or your head if you’re bad.

Besides, too many eyes are on me and the sword master. Thinking about the butterfly effect that would result if I accepted the sparring, my head was already spinning.

Let’s make an excuse and refuse.

After I reached that conclusion, I bowed my head toward the inspector and said.

“I am no match for you, Your Majesty. Please put away your sword.”

Among the cadets, snickers and mocking remarks flowed out. Words like, “I knew it,” and “I was scared.”

They seem so comfortable with being able to say whatever they want, saying it’s none of their business. Honestly, most of them would say goodbye to their heads and torsos if I waved my arm once.

I turned my eyes slightly to examine the sword master’s face. There were thick veins on his temples, and his eyes, with a hint of anger, flashed fiercely. His face was clearly filled with anger.

“How long do you think you can live hiding your power? As a prosecutor, you don’t have even a shred of respect for your opponents. No matter how talented you are, it’s useless. You’re such a cowardly, petty person.”

His voice was not loud enough to reach the cadets’ ears. He continued speaking coldly.

“Don’t you have any pride as a swordsman?”

My right cheek twitched at those words. The inspector clicked his tongue as if it was not appropriate.

‘Pride.’

These are the words I have always engraved in my heart since I won the title of the best swordsman in the country. Those two letters were the reason I never put down my sword.

In the midst of the heated atmosphere, sweat flowed down like a waterfall from Instructor Lee Won-bin’s forehead.

It seemed like he wanted to stop her, but since he was the one being investigated, he couldn’t do anything and just kept stomping his feet.

On the other hand, the inspector was glaring at me without any sign of backing down. In fact, I know that all the words he just said were provocations to test me.

He must be trying to gauge my skills by seeing my reaction. If I give in to that provocation without thinking, it’s obvious that I’ll regret it for a long time.

I spread my fingers wide and then closed them. Blue veins stood out on the back of my clenched hands.

The eyes of the audience are focused on me. The faces are filled with anticipation.

He just wanted me to run away, ugly. Then something hot welled up inside his chest.

His hand was stuck to his waist like a magnet. His fingers felt for the handle of the knife and soon he pulled it out.

Sling.

As I silently grabbed the sashimi, their eyes gathered around me. Their pupils grew twice as big as if they were lying.

Lee Won-bin tried to run towards him out of breath, but the inspector stopped him.

“I guess you’ve made up your mind.”

One corner of the swordsman’s mouth rose slightly.

As if he had been waiting for my decision, the sword of the sword master was raised. Only then did he greet me with a cheerful voice and bow.

“Your Majesty, Siegfried von Nibelung. Please do me a favor.”

I swept the dirt floor with my feet and took a stance. Then, with just a flick of my wrist, the scabbard glided across the blade.

[The protection of the Sword God is manifested.]

“Student Kang Geum-ma, I will teach you a trick.”

* * *

It’s pitch black.

Standing against the pitch-black background, with superhuman concentration, were two men wielding swords.

Thud thud.

The man who took the first step was Siegfried.

The sound of brisk footsteps, as if he were going out to meet an old friend. His left hand is holding a straight sword.

As I enter the twilight of my life, my heart, which had been growing cold, begins to feel warm. The moment our swords meet, age becomes nothing more than a pretense.

The tense facial muscles relax at the feeling of being alive, and a smile appears.

Siegfried searched for memories from his childhood. It was something that happened when the old man was a boy. He was seventy years old, but that moment came back to him clearly.

While I was practicing my sword every day in the mountains, I happened to come across a wandering knight. He was missing one arm and his clothes were shabby and dirty.

But the sword that the article demonstrated was within ‘that realm’.

‘Enlightenment through the sword.’

Siegfried focused on his opponent.

A boy I’ve had my eye on since the class placement test.

Although his body is still immature, like a newly sprouted tree, his eyes are filled with dignity.

For a moment, the image of the strong swordsman and the one-armed wandering knight overlapped. Perhaps it was a clue that would lead him to a higher level. Siegfried thought so.

The heart was hot. The blade was cold.

The inspector is a sufficient species on his own. All he needs is healthy flesh and solid iron.

Siegfried, who was facing the strong swordsman, put down his title of swordsman. He wanted to face the boy as a single warrior.

Ta-da-dak.

Siegfried’s footsteps were as light as a boy’s. He ran as if he was sliding on the ground. The straight sword’s blade flashed like lightning and aimed for Sashimi.

Pick!

The straight blade cut through the air. Siegfried was not flustered. He quickly moved his eyes to find the high, high-rising strong sword.

A faint smile spread across his wrinkled lips. If he hadn’t shown even this much movement, I would have been disappointed.

Shrek!

The straight sword’s blade surged upward from below. The swordsmanship of a veteran was almost like a skill. Kanggeomma did not dodge but accepted the old man’s attack.

Kang! Kang!

The clashing iron objects made a harsh, dull sound.

His arms felt lighter than ever. He felt good swinging his sword.

Siegfried had already forgotten that this was a duel.

An invisible silver trail passed back and forth. The two blades repeatedly clung together and separated.

When the old man attacks, the boy takes it, and when the boy attacks, the old man strikes it away.

Siegfried responds with skill to the acrobatic movements of the swordsman.

A sharp sashimi flew in like a swallow from an unexpected angle. A magical sword that curved inward. Siegfried received it with the experience engraved in every joint of his bones.

Every time their attacks clashed, sparks like fire flew violently.

Siegfried’s blade is imbued with the full-blown talent and life of a veteran dedicated to the sword.

The blade of the Ganggeomma is imbued with a mystical quality that seems to have escaped the shackles of humanity.

The two men continued their cool conversation through their swords.

Although it was a momentary battle, it felt like time had been artificially stretched out.

Even in the midst of the persistently stretched out time, only Sashimi moved with an unusual sense of speed.

Kanggeomma’s hand speed is noticeably increasing by the second.

Even in a split second, the boy grows. When his sashimi draws an arc, it makes a sharp sound as if space is being cut.

It was so funny that I almost laughed out loud. Instead of laughing, the old man held his breath.

‘Excellent.’

Siegfried the Swordmaster laughed, baring his teeth like a child.

The strongest warrior in the world. The title that every man dreams of. He achieved that honor at a young age.

Since ancient times, there were few who could receive Siegfried’s sword. What’s more, even they soon found themselves kneeling before him.

That was until half a century ago.

In the battle to subdue the Demon King’s 6th Army Corps Commander Basmon, he lost three of his six comrades. Although the outcome was a victory, it was not worth the price he paid with his comrades’ lives.

Basmon was the weakest of the six legion commanders, but he was incredibly strong. The seven greatest human forces fought day and night for a week. Thinking back now, I think he won with great difficulty.

Although he was called the strongest in humanity, he would look like a mere beast in front of the commanders of the Demon King’s army.

Mine is the absolute power, and humans are the weak who bow down to him. This world was that absurd.

That is why, from that day on, Siegfried continued to train while recalling the path of the wandering knight. He swung his sword with the weight of hope for humanity on his shoulders.

And finally, at the age of seventy, Siegfried was finally knocking on the door of enlightenment.

Kkuddeuk―

The swordsman standing with his back bent and his upper body pressed down. It was a posture that seemed to be barely holding back the strength that was trying to stretch forward. It was like the posture of a beast just before it runs towards its prey.

His eyes, which were raised, were filled with a radiance that went beyond the ordinary. He turned the sashimi in both hands and held it in reverse as if he was going to bet on this deal.

Siegfried laughed briefly. He gripped the handle of his sword tightly as if responding.

Demonstrated protection.

The protection of the sword spirit.

A spirit-level protection that brings swordsmanship talent to its limit with a concentration far beyond human understanding. It was a secret technique among secret techniques that only a handful of people in the 700-year history of the Nibelung family could master.

The blue light that flowed in slowly coated the blade. The bright blue flames began to burn the bottom of the hilt. Siegfried shouted, pulling up the corners of his wrinkled lips.

“Come, Strong Sword Horse!”

With a loud cry, Kanggeomma thrust his body out.

Papa-bat!