How to Live as a Wandering Knight

Chapter 15.1: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐝 (𝟏𝟓)

Karamaf drew his weapon, a drab, dark-colored longsword without any decoration. It seemed too plain for a knight of Karamaf’s stature.

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━𝐃𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧’𝐭 𝐭𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞?”

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━𝐈𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐟 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦, 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐩𝐚𝐲 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐬?

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━. . .𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐤𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭? 𝐒𝐮𝐫𝐞, 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐲 𝐢𝐭𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐚 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐩𝐨𝐧.”

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Ordinary swordsmanship didn’t mean instant death for someone unfamiliar with the technique.

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Swordsmanship is ultimately about how one wields the sword in combat. It’s about how to stab, slash, and parry. It’s not about suddenly unleashing an unthinkable move. A master of one technique could somewhat counter an unfamiliar one.

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However, the technique’s vision was different.

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If you don’t know them, you’re at a disadvantage!

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They’re skills that defy conventional wisdom, leaving first-timers vulnerable. Knowing even one or two of these could mean the difference between life and death in a split second.

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━𝐄𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐦𝐲 𝐬𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞, 𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐤𝐞. 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲’𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩. 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐤𝐞𝐲 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞.”

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Fitting for an assassin, Kaegal’s swordsmanship specialized in ending the fight with a first strike. This was fortunate for Johan.

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‘𝘌𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦.’

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One step further.

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Karamaf raised his longsword, immediately creating an overwhelming pressure. It seemed ready to respond instantly in any direction.

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━𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐨𝐫? 𝐀𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐨𝐫, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐝. 𝐍𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞, 𝐚 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥-𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞.”

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━𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐟 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐧’𝐭 𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦?

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━𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞’𝐬 𝐧𝐨 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐬 𝐮𝐧𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞. 𝐍𝐨 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞. 𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐢𝐭! 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲’𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐨𝐟𝐟.”

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‘𝘏𝘮𝘮. 𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯.’

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Contrary to Kaegal’s words, that’s exactly what he was doing.

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Karamaf’s plate armor felt like a fortress. The only seemingly vulnerable spots were the helmet’s slit and the neck, but Karamaf, being no fool, would defend these well.

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𝐂𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐜𝐡━

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Johan gripped the longsword tightly, feeling it scream in his grasp.

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‘𝘌𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘣𝘢𝘵.’

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One step further.

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Johan completed his calculation and his step.

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It was time to strike.

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A technique called <𝐍𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐬’𝐬 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐞> from the guild unfolded beneath Johan’s feet. It was a unique gait that seemed to glide over the ground.

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Karamaf’s eyes widened at the sight of a technique usually used by assassins, wondering how a knight’s son could use it.

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But that was all. Karamaf was too experienced to be surprised by this. He immediately prepared to counter Johan as he closed the distance, ready to strike at any moment.

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Then, Johan vanished. He accelerated again in an explosive movement that genuinely shocked Karamaf.

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‘𝘐 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥!’

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It’s said that a first-class swordsman senses their defeat before it happens. The trained mind and senses make the judgment before the blade even touches the body. That’s what Karamaf was experiencing now.

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For him to lose track of his opponent in a duel between swordsmen was unbelievable.

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‘𝘞𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵. . .!’

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Though defeated in the bout, Karamaf did not panic. This wasn’t a duel under equal conditions. It was a fight where lives were at stake.

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From the beginning, Johan couldn’t win against Karamaf, no matter how many times he probed his weaknesses.

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As long as this armor remains intact.

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Karamaf only needed one hit to win, but for Johan, a win was impossible without striking several times to penetrate vital spots. The fight was so uneven it could hardly be called a fight. Karamaf never thought he would lose.

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‘𝘐 𝘢𝘥𝘮𝘪𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳. 𝘚𝘰, 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰? 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘪𝘵, 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵. 𝘕𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘵, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘶𝘯 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺.’

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Karamaf guarded his neck and face, waiting for Johan’s attack. It didn’t matter where Johan struck. The moment he did, his feet would be stopped, and Karamaf’s counterattack would begin.

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𝐒𝐬𝐬𝐬𝐡𝐤!

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There was a heavy sound of air being sliced. Johan swung his sword with tremendous force, aiming for the side. He was attempting a horizontal slash. Karamaf scoffed at Johan.

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Trying to cut plate armor with a longsword. Such a foolish act, not even a fool would attempt. His lack of proper knightly training was his downfall here. Once his meaningless sword strike ended, his neck would be severed.

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‘𝘍𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭.’

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Then there was a sound.

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It was the sound of Karamaf’s armor being ripped apart.