The Terminally Ill Young Master is the Mad Dog of the Underworld-Chapter 235
[Translator - Pot ]
[Proofreader - Kawaii ]
Chapter 235: Both Sides Conceal Their Strength
Siena Valkenhain and her escort unit didn't travel directly through the Grunewald Duchy.
Their detour clearly had a purpose.
"We will make this a place for a kind of Warrior's Pilgrimage."
"Understood, elder sister."
No matter how formidable Grunewald's military might was, it was impossible to perfectly maintain order in every corner of the Duchy.
Realistically, protecting cities and fortresses, or points on a map, was the best strategy.
Therefore, those traveling the lines between these points faced many threats.
"Attack! Charge from three sides and crush them!"
Kieeeek!
Kyaaaat!
They hunted monsters and killed monstrous beasts.
"S-save me. Just my life..."
"If we had no power, would you have spared us?"
They also subdued ignorant bandits who dared not recognize the Valkenhain crest.
However, the enemies obstructing their journey didn't end there.
"You bastards, you've been watching us from afar."
"..." ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm
Siena looked at the man kneeling before her with cold eyes.
Such was the intensity of the fierce battle, his black clothes were completely torn and soaked in blood.
In contrast, Siena's white garments remained spotless.
'...What a disaster. I never thought she'd be this strong.'
The man in black muttered to himself.
'Wasn't she supposed to be, at best, in the late 5th tier?'
The information was wrong.
Furthermore, it was an unforeseen situation that they had noticed his group's presence.
As a result, he and his subordinates were caught in an inescapable encirclement and annihilated.
"You underestimated me, didn't you?."
For a martial artist of Siena's caliber, carelessness meant immediate defeat.
"He showed insufficient respect toward you, Sister."
"That he did."
Siena nodded at her younger brother Jillian's words.
"I gave you the chance to fight honorably one-on-one. And I won."
It was a noble and chivalrous courtesy, a decisive battle between leader and leader.
"Nameless one. How will you repay my respect?"
"..."
The nameless man gave a bitter smile.
"I apologize, Young Lady. I can say nothing."
"You dare!"
Jillian was enraged, but Siena's eyes were simply cold.
"You can say nothing? Does that mean it's not up to your will to decide?"
"..."
The man tightly shut his eyes.
"You're sharp. Yes, that's right."
There was probably some kind of restriction.
Siena understood that by implying this much, he had shown her the minimum level of respect.
"Nameless one, do you have any last words?"
Siena raised her sword high and...
"......!"
A single tear flowed from the man's deep, empty eyes.
"Thank you for your respect, Young Lady."
This, too, was the minimum courtesy Siena offered to someone who would meet their end by her hand.
"Now, rest in peace. No evildoer shall disturb your eternal slumber."
Slice!
The man's vision tilted and then went dark.
"Gather and burn their bodies."
"Your command, Young Lady."
Siena wiped the blood from her sword with a cloth and sheathed it.
"...Elder sister, congratulations. You've mastered the Falling Star Beneath the Azure Night Cultivation technique and the Black Hawk Soul-Binding Sword Technique."
Jillian spoke with reverence.
"Yes. Through this practical combat with this person, I seem to have overcome the last remaining layer of the wall."
The courtesy Siena showed at the man in black's death was also an expression of gratitude for this.
"No one has mastered the Falling Star Beneath the Azure Night Cultivation technique before their coming-of-age ceremony in almost 100 years, elder sister."
"However, late blooming is better than early speed. I must strive even harder."
The Falling Star Beneath the Azure Night Cultivation technique, as its name suggests, is a mana cultivation technique modeled after the appearance of a meteor streaking across the deep blue night sky.
Therefore, those who practiced this mana cultivation technique typically maintained a state of emptiness during normal times, then suddenly exploded their mana and enjoyed using the tactic of initiating a preemptive strike against their enemies.
Its profound principle was similar to drawing a sword from a natural stance and instantly killing an opponent with a single strike.
'And the Black Hawk Soul-Binding Sword Technique is a martial art that complements the weakness of the Falling Star Beneath the Azure Night Cultivation technique, which can easily rely solely on a single surprise attack.'
This was a sword art with a chilling meaning: the black hawk's talons could even capture and tear apart souls.
'Either quickly severing the enemy's lifeline, or persistently clinging to and gnawing at them, entangling and bringing them down.'
It was also the martial study of Ernst Valkenhain, who once rivaled Vitenfeld Grunewald.
'Valkenhain's martial arts are fundamentally based on speed, tenacity, and precision.'
Their direction was different from Grunewald's martial studies, which pursued flexibility, broadness, and diverse approaches.
"As of today, elder sister, you have finally acquired the qualifications to inherit the title."
The Valkenhain martial arts system had a crucial difference from Grunewald's.
'They have three stages, but we have two stages.'
In other words, while the Grunewalds reserved their supreme-level martial arts for the head of the clan alone, the Valkenhains had a two stage structure where not only the clan head, but also a select few direct descendants could learn the highest-level techniques.
As such, mastering the first-stage martial art was much more difficult and took longer than in Grunewald.
"Indeed, it was the right decision to make this journey an opportunity for training."
"Yes, I too was able to further refine my martial prowess by taking advantage of this opportunity."
Sticking to the castle and repeating the same daily routine alone would hardly be considered exploring the path to profound enlightenment to the best of one's ability.
Therefore, Siena used this journey as an opportunity for training.
This was because the Valkenhain clan had no tradition of having their successors serve in the military to gain practical experience.
"As a result, the Young Lady's judgment was correct, after all."
Reinholdt, the Grand Commander of the Royal Guard, smiled bitterly.
"Of course, the Patriarch opposed it, though."
He usually didn't directly intervene in battles, only commanding the army from the rear. And Siena and Jillian didn't need his help at all.
'...The Valkenhain clan has truly gained heaven-sent talent after a long time.'
The next Duke of Valkenhain.
That position would surely be Siena's.
Because Siena's inherent talent wasn't just martial prowess.
"...By the way, Grand Commander Reinholdt."
"Yes."
Siena pointed at the man in black's corpse.
"About them."
"Yes, it's unusual. I'll look into it."
"As you well know, recently strange entities have been appearing in the underworld of Litvaleur, causing trouble-"
Siena frowned.
"It seems they were in Grunewald too."
Reinholdt said with a serious expression.
"It seems something big is about to happen."
"I agree."
"And, this is news that just came in."
Reinholdt conveyed the news that Young Master Allenvert would be coming out to greet them in front of the castle, leading his personal guard.
"Young Master Allenvert himself is coming?"
"Yes, Young Lady."
Siena nodded with satisfaction.
"Grunewald shows us considerable respect."
"But elder sister, this is the first I've heard of Young Master Allenvert having a personal guard."
Jillian tilted his head.
"It's not some unit hastily assembled for this event, is it?"
"Surely not? If it were, we would immediately discern it by the severity of their military discipline."
"That's true."
"Now, it's truly not much longer."
A complex mix of tension for the upcoming competition and anticipation for the glory that would follow victory was evident in the expressions of the two siblings.
"And all preparations are complete."
Siena simply couldn't envision her own defeat.
***
As I rode alongside Barclava, with our horses abreast, I scolded him.
"Stop swallowing your saliva. Are you thirsty?"
"What can I do, I'm nervous."
"We're not fighting as soon as we meet, are we?"
Barclava asked, as if he didn't understand.
"But the opponent is Siena Valkenhain. Why are you so calm, Brother?"
"Hey, your elder sister is Young Lady Ulbhild, and your older brothers are Young Master Verdzig and Young Master Allenvert."
Just by the ranks of the Ete Nistyrnur, we are superior. The Duke of Valkenhain isn't even coming himself, so why should I be nervous?
'Besides, meeting important people? I've experienced plenty of that in my previous life.'
Smoothly entertaining those bastards who thought they were hot shit in the underworld wasn't difficult for me.
"Here they come."
At the head of their army was a woman on a white horse.
"Indeed, that is Siena Valkenhain."
I muttered.
"She's like a biting wind blowing from the north."
Siena possessed sharp features and eyes as cold as a winter sea.
Clip-clop, clip-clop.
Every time the white horse stamped its hooves, the strong wind briefly ceased, and she was a martial artist with a presence that made even the earth hold its breath.
"Allenvert of Grunewald welcomes you."
Siena wore a satisfied expression at my impeccable etiquette.
"Siena of Valkenhain gladly accepts your respect."
We looked into each other's eyes, probing each other's aura.
"...Hmm."
"Why the hesitation?"
"You're more than I heard."
"What do you mean?"
"Your face, no, your aura."
Siena cleared her throat, as if she had fumbled her words.
"Ahem."
"Is that so? I thought I was hiding it well."
Indeed, I had perfectly concealed my aura by combining the principles of the Dark Star with the principles of the Whispering Snow in the Night.
"Yes, that's why it's strange."
Siena retorted.
"The fact that I cannot read your aura."
Then, a boy next to her, whose eyes narrowed as if something displeased him, interjected.
"Elder sister, how can that be? It seems the Young Master used some trick on our first meeting."
Siena then frowned.
"Jillian, you lack respect. To slander someone to their face without any basis."
Then the brat, Jillian or whatever his name was, flinched his shoulders.
"Elder sister, it's not that, I merely..."
"This is not your place to speak."
"Wise words."
I quickly nodded.
"Young Master Jillian. Your opponent is not me, but my younger brother Barclava, so please go speak with him over there."
"W-what did you say?"
Jillian's face turned red and blue as he understood the meaning of ‘if you can't handle it, don't act up and get lost.’
'Oh dear. He's furious, absolutely furious.'
Why pick a fight when you're clearly out of your league?
"This is Jeffrey, Commander of the Personal Guard."
Jeffrey smoothly cut in, as if to give Jillian no chance to get angry.
"Pleasure to meet you, Commander Jeffrey."
"It's an honor to meet one of the renowned ‘Sixth Seat of Ete Nistyrnur’. I anticipate a high-level and formal match."
As adult conversation took place, Jillian mumbled something with his mouth, then finally closed it.
"I am Reinholdt, Grand Commander of the Royal Guard."
The Royal Guard Grand Commander from the Valkenhain side, who boasted a solemn and heavy aura, offered his hand to Jeffrey.
"It is an honor to meet a person of such renowned martial prowess, Sir Reinholdt."
"It's not that great."
Reinholdt was a man whose humility even seemed gruff.
'He's like a mountain made of rock.'
I silently admired the man's presence.
'Indeed, the world is vast, and there are still many monsters.'
Anyway, Jeffrey approached Reinholdt and exchanged a few words.
"Specifically, both units will line up in two columns and proceed down the main road, and during that process, there are a few rules..."
While the practical discussions took place, Siena and I rode with our horses abreast, continuing to probe each other.
"Young Master, I heard you personally created the third technique of the Azure Sea Moon Shadow Swordsmanship."
To know even that, it seems they didn't neglect their investigation.
"It's not that great. It's a technique named 'Moon Dance', where I simply blended the profound principles of the Whispering Snow in the Night and the Scarlet Cloud Ghost Path with an existing technique called the Shadow Flowing Phantom Sword..."
"Isn't that great?"
"There's still much room for improvement."
That's why I'm currently strengthening it by adding the Ink Soul Sacred Shadow Technique and even Dark Mana.
'In other words, it's the final perfected form of Moon Dance, you could say?'
Of course, I have no intention of telling her that.
***
A Valkenhain cavalryman, crossing the wide main road, halted his horse.
Hoooooooot-
A horn blast reminiscent of a ship's whistle blended with the music of the military band, creating a magnificent melody.
Clip-clop, clip-clop.
The white horse carrying Siena imperiously lowered its eyebrows, as if enjoying the attention and gaze of the crowd.
"That's Siena Valkenhain."
"She's the Sixth Seat of Ete Nistyrnur, isn't she?"
People flocked like clouds to see Siena, who was widely rumored to be the next Duke of Valkenhain, and was famous for her beauty and strength.
"Wow, standing next to the Young Master, they truly look like a match made in heaven."
"Still, our Young Master is more handsome."
"That's true."
Among the murmuring crowd, a young man posed a strange question.
"But mister, what happens if the two of them fall in love with each other?"
"Two duchies united by marriage? Haha! That's something that probably won't happen even in 100 years."
A merchant, standing with his hands behind his back, displaying his ample figure, said pretentiously.
"Because His Majesty the King would never tolerate it."
"Oh, is that so?"
"Of course! There are many reasons why the two clans have never joined hands through marriage since ancient times. The two clans, as swords serving the royal family, have never done anything that could raise suspicion."
"Oh, I heard that story too!"
"Yes, you fool. Is marriage something that happens just by the will of two people?"
While the gossips exchanged words, commenting on the two's appearances...
Ulbhild, observing the scene intently from a distance, narrowed her eyes.
"Look, Harold. Young Lady Siena is a far more complete martial artist than we anticipated."
"Yes, I didn't realize she was this strong."
Her heightened senses sharply assessed Siena's skill.
"...It seems the other side was also hiding their strength."
Ulbhild asserted.
"The martial prowess the Young Lady possesses now is by no means merely at the level of a Sixth Seat."
[Translator - Pot ]
[Proofreader - Kawaii ]
