NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 55
Chapter 55: The Samurai Fights a Knight
“Amazing, isn’t it, Raoul! It’s truly wonderful!!”
“Captain! Congratulations!”
“It was worth all the hellish training, wasn’t it!”
Joy erupted, and Renald and the others embraced each other in jubilation. Tyumen and his companions, unaware of the situation, stood dumbfounded, but even Kurosu couldn’t help but pat Raoul on the shoulder in congratulation.
“Well done, Lord Raoul.”
“All of this is thanks to your support, Lord Cross…”
Raoul whispered a quiet “thank you” and turned his face away as if to hide his deeply moved expression.
“It’s too early to give thanks. Show us your skills immediately.”
…
The two faced each other on an open field outside. Kurosu wielded a sword, Raoul a spear, and both were holding their real weapons, not training ones.
“…I see, the air around you has changed. A more formidable and commanding presence than before.”
His gaze, expression, and stance—all were impeccable. The tension in his shoulders was relaxed appropriately, his back straight, and his posture commendable. The spear pointed toward Kurosu’s heart was filled with cold, merciless intent, making the hair on his arms stand on end, as if a gun barrel were pointed at him.
A pleasurable, yet tingling sense of killing intent rippled across his skin. His chest swelled with excitement over this long-awaited, normal clash.
“It’s not just an atmosphere—witness my skills. …Now!”
“One Brave Charge!”
Raoul closed the distance with a wind-like charge despite the weight of his armor and unleashed a series of lightning-fast thrusts.
“Fast…but not enough to match Nenet.”
Though Raoul’s movements were certainly more agile than before, they weren’t astonishing. Comparable to the spearman he fought in the Mercenary Guild—whose name he’d forgotten—this was roughly the same level.
He dodged the spear with swift footwork, contemplating his attack. Raul’s ten-word spear was roughly two ‘ken’ in length, making its range three-and-a-half steps farther than Kurosu’s sword.
…Should I deflect the spear upward and close the distance?
The spear’s advantage is its longer reach, but get close enough, and that advantage disappears. Since knights avoid grappling, there’s no need to worry about kicks.
He baited the thrust aimed for his chest, waited until the last moment, and then slashed upward from a lower stance, stepping forward with his right foot. In that instant—the spearhead wavered significantly.
“!?”
Kurosu barely leaped back in time to avoid almost being cut by the deflected blade.
“…What nonsense.”
What just happened with that thrust?
Ignoring Kurosu’s astonishment, the eyes glowing behind Raoul’s helmet gleamed brightly.
“Not yet! This isn’t all!”
As if hiding it was no longer an option, Raoul unleashed a relentless barrage of incomprehensible thrusts.
This…cannot be stopped.
Each time Raoul extended his arms, a thunderous sound, like a wet towel being swung around, echoed around them. Despite Kurosu’s extraordinary dynamic vision and evasive maneuvers, the spearhead, circling in spirals, was impossible to track, forcing him to continuously retreat.
“Cross is being pushed back!?”
“What’s going on? That’s…a monster, isn’t it? Were you holding back during the ‘Mad Monkey’ fight?”
“That movement of the spear—is it magic?”
“No, Raoul lost his magical power…but still…”
The relentless, invisible thrusts combined with the wide range of attack from the rapidly spinning ten-word spear created a highly menacing offense. A reckless parry could easily sever a limb.
However—despite being startled at first, after observing for some time, Kurosu noticed the pattern.
“The Swift Spear, huh.”
Among the many polearm techniques, it belonged to one of the most troublesome categories: a spear with a hollow tube near the handle, reducing friction between the palm and the weapon to unleash explosive speed and sweeping trajectories.
Raoul’s spear didn’t have such a tube, so it was likely the mechanism was in his gauntlets.
Unlike Kurosu’s finger-exposed gauntlets for archery, Raoul’s gauntlets completely covered his fingers with metal plates. At a glance, it was hard to notice, but there were probably iron plates inside that fulfilled the same function as the tube.
“Do you know this technique? I thought I had created this unique spear style… How embarrassing.”
Raoul awkwardly relaxed his stance, to which Kurosu was somewhat perplexed.
This man—has he truly mastered a technique of his own creation?
Martial techniques are the cumulative result of countless refinements. Only the most practical methods remain in use. For one person to independently establish a technique required a remarkable talent and blood-sweating effort.
“Lord Raoul, my apologies for being disrespectful. It appears I underestimated you. From this point on, I will fight as if to kill.”
“If this has drawn out your true potential, I consider it an honor. Let us reset, then.”
Without words, both stepped back, repositioning for another bout. After a few seconds of eyeing each other, they dashed forward in perfect unison.
Even without fully seeing it, the circular blade-like motion in front was already accounted for. To avoid the thrust, simply dodge dramatically as if avoiding a cannonball’s trajectory.
Ducking under the whistling spearhead, Kurosu stepped inside the spear’s range. Aiming for Raoul’s flank, he swiped his sword—but Raoul rotated his spear vertically and swung the butt end toward Kurosu’s face, anticipating his move perfectly.
An involuntary grunt escaped his lips. Almost instinctively, his body shifted into a defensive stance, but the spear’s speed was just a bit faster.
The clash of metal against metal rang out as sparks flew.
“…Did it hit? That spear handling…you’ve transformed completely. Remarkable.”
Kurosu noticed blood running down his right cheek.
“Serious! We hit Cross!”
“Both of you are incredibly fast…”
“Amazing, Raoul! Keep it up!”
“I can’t follow the speed at all. Aurik, Axel, did you see that?”
“Sorry, I didn’t see anything…”
“I didn’t either. Wow, so the captain’s spear is this fast…”
While licking the blood streaming from his cheek, Kurosu grinned. How long had it been since he sustained a facial injury? Unable to contain the euphoria bubbling inside him, his lips curled into a smile. This was a true, thrilling battle, the kind he had yearned for above all else.
Ah…I’m truly glad I came to this country.
Letting go of his restraint, he charged forward like a tiger breaking free from its chains.
The spearhead pierced his shoulder, but he paid it no mind, unleashing a powerful kick.
“Guuh!”
The pristine white armor warped slightly, and the heel of Kurosu’s foot drove into Raoul’s liver. Raoul fell backward, flat on his back.
Aiming for the gap in his helmet with a double-handed sword slash, Kurosu attempted to pierce Raoul’s face, but Raoul rolled out of the way.
“My thrust no longer works against you. Therefore…”
While Raoul adjusted his position and grabbed the spear’s end, Kurosu pulled his deeply planted sword from the ground. Raoul then began to whirl his spear like a whip, the sound cutting through the air, increasing in speed until the spear became invisible.
“Ho ho, handling a spear like a whip. That’s a spear style I’ve never seen before. How exhilarating!”
Kurosu smiled genuinely and threw the knife strapped to his waist. It was deflected with a sharp clang and disappeared into the distance.
“A technique that combines offense and defense, huh? This isn’t something that can be broken with mere trickery.”
Discarding his broadsword, Kurosu grasped his beloved sword’s hilt. He lowered his stance, pulled his left leg far back, and took a quick inhale. His posture resembled a bow fully drawn.
He dashed forward like a released arrow, and their figures crossed in the blink of an eye.
“…”
When the dust kicked up by Raoul’s spear settled, Raoul’s spear was embedded deep into the ground and Kurosu’s sword was pointing at his throat.
“…How was that? Did I manage to surprise you even a little?”
“A splendid and powerful spear style. Among all the spear users I’ve fought, none have matched the brilliance of your skills. If not for the period you’ve been away from fighting, the outcome might have been uncertain.”
Raoul removed his helmet, placed his hand over his heart, and bowed.
“Lord Cross, as a knight, I swear I will never forget this great favor. One day, I will repay it with all my might.”
Raoul extended his right hand.
Does he mean…to shake hands?
“Enough, don’t be so formal. We both live for our pride; in a way, we are kindred spirits. Continue to follow the path of your own knightly virtue.”
The two exchanged a firm handshake and, with boyish smiles, cheered on each other’s excellent efforts.
With a click on the heart, you can easily send support.
(Sign in required to support.)
If you have an account, please log in.
Learn more about the reading experience available on Kakuyomu.