Chapter 458

KWA————ANG!

KWAZHIZHI———!!!

It was a clash of sword against sword, and yet—

the moment the two blades collided, a sound like something shattering into pieces stabbed through the air and echoed.

In time with it, the air around them split apart as if it were being torn, and from the aftershock, the clouds in the sky cracked as if they were solid, shattered into pieces, and scattered in every direction.

Was it because of that aftershock?

PAAANG———!!!

CHIIIIIIII———!!!

With a razor-sharp metallic screech, Kim Che-geon and Leonic were pushed back from each other.

As the ghost horse and the black horse were forced back,?both horses looked like their pride had been wounded—and Kim Che-geon and Leonic were the same.

The two of them quickly handled their mounts and started running again, and?once the acceleration kicked in,?they drove their swords with a speed faster than anything else.

Rather than “swinging,” the swords each of them thrust toward the other became a single flash, flying straight in.

But right before that, the tips of their swords collided with perfect precision, and the two flashes crashed as if they were piercing through each other.

KWAZHIZHIZHIZHI————!!!

The instant the mighty tips of the two swords met, energy burst outward in every direction, and that energy became plasma in the air, stretching out in all directions.

That vast force raised a magnetic field, and the rocks around them began to float up.

With an impact that overwhelming, their auras collided for an instant, and light exploded out.

The viewers watching, the backup team, and the vassals all widened their eyes.

The vassals were shocked at Kim Che-geon’s skill, far beyond what they’d expected—and the viewers couldn’t hide their enormous excitement at the duel.

It was a situation where everyone was stunned.

-Wow, what the hell is this?

-Kim Che-geon was this good?????

-I mean, he fought Kyou almost evenly, didn’t he;;;;

-That’s only Legendary grade?????

-Exactly, you could call it Almighty and it wouldn’t even be an exaggeration, would it?

-I’m serious, people said a really strong Legendary is stronger than some half-assed Almighty, and that wasn’t bullshit;;;;

Kim Che-geon had already shown his skill against Kyou,?and yet there were still plenty of people who were shocked anyway.

And in the middle of that, Kim Che-geon was crossing blades with Leonic—

and both of them were surprised.

‘This vassal is no joke....’

Kim Che-geon was shocked that Leonic—despite being nothing more than an NPC vassal—was displaying such tremendous skill.

Kim Che-geon knew named NPCs were strong, but even so, he hadn’t thought even his swordsmanship would be this majestic and formidable.

He hadn’t expected it would be to this extent.

And the other side was the same.

Leonic was also quite shocked.

Because of the depth in the swordsmanship Kim Che-geon was showing.

‘...This isn’t swordsmanship he learned carelessly.’

Right now, what Kim Che-geon was using wasn’t Joseon swordsmanship he’d watched in historical dramas and copied, nor traditional swordsmanship he’d learned after coming to Korea—

it was orthodox German swordsmanship his family had learned and developed step by step since the medieval era, so that was all the more true.

Once his family’s traditional horsemanship and mounted swordsmanship were added, even if Kim Che-geon’s grade was high among Legendary classes, he could measure up to Almighty.

Even with control better than Kyou’s, originally it would’ve been hard for him to contend with Kyou—but because Seong had made him that black horse, it became possible for him to at least contend at all.

That was why Leonic couldn’t help being shocked.

He never could have imagined there would be an outsider like this.

Swordsmanship far surpassing that of most named NPCs.

So Leonic acknowledged his opponent.

-“You are not one who holds a sword carelessly.”

“...You’re the same.”

-“Kuhahaha, bold.”

If Leonic had been able to use his original power in full,?he would have beaten Kim Che-geon with ease.

But Seong had not fully grown yet.

So there were quite a few sword techniques Leonic couldn’t use.

But that was fine.

Rather, because that was the case, it was even more enjoyable.

They handled their mounts with everything they had and swung their swords at each other.

DAGADAKDAGADAK——!

PAAAANG———!

HIIIIIHING———!

KWAZHIZHIZHIZHI————!

PURURURURU——!!

CHAEAEANG! CHAENG! CHAEAEAEANG———!!!

The trembling of metal ringing out from every direction, the crash of metal against metal,?and in between, even the sound of the horses snorting.

As all those different sounds mixed together, the stage was being turned into a battlefield.

This wasn’t simply a fight “on a stage.”

It felt like watching two generals locked in a mounted duel in the middle of a war.

At the sight of the two of them handling their mounts, people swallowed hard.

-This is insane.

-No, what kind of vassal fights that well???

-He’s seriously fucking good;;;;

-Exactly;;;;

-He’s insanely strong?????

-What, lmao, he was trading blows with Kim Che-geon who even contended with Kyou, and he’s doing him like that???

-Leonic seems a little ahead???

Just like the viewers said, Leonic was a little ahead.

In between the exchanges, that deep-navy aura with glimpses of veteran skill kept carving small wounds into Kim Che-geon, and even if they weren’t deep, little by little, his stamina was being shaved down.

But Kim Che-geon didn’t get impatient.

If anything, he moved as if that was only natural.

He was the challenger.

That vassal was someone more skilled than him.

And on top of that—

‘This feels like when I was facing my instructors.’

It even felt like he was fighting instructors who were holding back while sparring with him.

From what he could see, it looked like Leonic was going all out, but there was a sense that something was sealed.

If you looked only at his veteran composure, weren’t there far more techniques and abilities sealed away than what he was showing right now?

Since he was a vassal, it seemed he couldn’t fully use his former power.

Knowing that, Kim Che-geon fought with the mindset of a challenger.

At first, he had wanted nothing but victory.

But now, it was different.

Was it because Leonic realized that shift in Kim Che-geon’s mindset?

Leonic’s attitude changed a little too.

-“When you grip the sword, you put too much strength into your wrist, so you’re not flexible. You need to bring out more of your flexibility.”

“Hup!!”

-“Yes. Like you just did, exactly.”

Leonic started giving advice about swordsmanship.

And as he did, Kim Che-geon’s movements gradually improved.

Even if you understood horsemanship and mounted swordsmanship, knowing and embodying it were different things.

Leonic’s advice was helping the genius Kim Che-geon absorb it quickly.

Maybe because of that,?Kim Che-geon’s movements became far better than when he first began fighting Leonic, and now, whenever an opening appeared, he even managed to land successful counters at Leonic.

-“You’ve improved quite a lot.”

“Thank you.”

-“Put strength into your hand and take strength out of your wrist, and you become flexible—but it can strain your wrist. What you need then is control between hard and soft. Like this.”

Whoosh——!!!

As he watched Leonic’s swordsmanship bend like a whip,?Kim Che-geon understood the meaning and accepted it.

Even while sparring, Leonic mixed in advice, and Kim Che-geon took it in and grew stronger little by little—the sight was truly impressive.

-This is insane;;;;

-This is real orthodox martial arts;;;;

-In martial arts stories, do they fight on horseback too?

-No, not really, but there’s chivalry, right? If there’s martial and there’s chivalry, it’s martial arts!

-lmaoooo agreed

-Wow, this is cool.

Both Leonic the vassal and Kim Che-geon of the backup team looked unbelievably cool.

As Kim Che-geon’s skill steadily rose,?the number of times he took wounds decreased, and instead, Leonic’s wounds began to increase.

But decisively, neither of them was using techniques that were close to secret arts yet.

So the match still hadn’t been decided.

How much time passed like that?

With Seong watching, he spoke.

“It’s about to end.”

It had already been a battle that had lasted over ten minutes,?but because it still felt like it was in full swing,?Seong’s words were unexpected.

-Eh????

-Already?????????

-No way???????

-They both still look totally fine, though????

-Really????

-Ah, damn...

-I don’t want it to end...

-For real, it felt like I was watching a historical drama

Everyone typed like that, full of regret, but?it’s not like they could just not finish the match.

And those two knew that better than anyone.

-“We should end it soon.”

“Heh. Coming from you.”

Leonic said that to Kim Che-geon, and he shot it back at Leonic.

He wanted to teach him more, badly.

But that didn’t mean he intended to lose, either.

Leonic released an aura like a deep-navy night sky.

In the past he couldn’t do it.

But now, after Seong created the secret arts, he could use it.

At that sight, Kim Che-geon’s eyes shone with a different light.

He still hadn’t grasped secret arts yet.

So to learn more, he widened his eyes.

Leonic looked at him and said,

-“A secret art is one’s own mental image. People say every swordsmanship has a secret art, but you must make that secret art your own for it to be a true secret art.”

With those words, Kim Che-geon and Leonic charged at each other.

Hearing it, Kim Che-geon tried to pour everything he had into his sword, but compared to the blade Leonic was showing, it felt lacking.

And Leonic shouted.

-“A secret art is not about putting all of yourself into it. It is about containing yourself.”

With those words, Leonic’s secret art unfolded.

That deep-navy aura spread outward little by little, and the deep-navy aura that could cut even the sky sliced the world as if cleaving it apart—starting from the sky, cutting it down, and dropping to the ground.

When the sun sets, the night dyes even the earth in darkness.

Leonic Evoke Secret Art 『Midnight』

Leonic’s secret art, Midnight, unfolded and flew straight at Kim Che-geon.

Kim Che-geon’s sword, which had held “everything,” could not contain “himself,” and was cut cleanly through.

In that instant, Kim Che-geon could understand.

What it meant to “contain yourself.”

The moment he understood it—

his sword was cut, and as he saw a long gash open across his chest, he sensed defeat.

And then.

‘Got it.’

He was able to realize something about himself.