Chapter 39: The Bet (6)
An unexpected turn of events occurred.
No one among the Portville people had anticipated such a result.
Not a collateral member, but a direct family member.
Although young, they had sent out someone sufficient to be called a core power of the family, yet he was defeated so miserably.
“…”
“…”
“…”
Everyone's gaze turned to one place.
It was where the Family Head, Philip Portville, was.
A man still vigorous despite being nearly 90, someone who had to obtain what he desired by any means necessary.
A man whose appearance when that greed wasn't satisfied was more terrifying than anyone else's.
What thoughts could he be having, seeing this farce now?
“Next, go out.”
“…Yes.”
Was it fortunate, if one could call it that?
The Family Head's voice was still calm.
His expression also showed no difference from usual, so the second participant in the match inwardly sighed in relief.
It was still alright.
If he won three consecutive matches starting now, there would be no problem.
‘Complacency is forbidden.’
He thought as he ascended the stage.
He was right.
The first match had sufficiently demonstrated how cruel the price of complacency was.
The fact that the delinquent fellow's skills were better than expected also played a part.
Of course, it was only that he was stronger ‘than expected’; an enormous skill gap still existed between the family and the Eddy Family.
At least, that's what he thought.
‘If so, what should I do?’
The second participant pondered repeatedly and came up with an answer.
It was the Manifestation of Presence.
The most effective, most efficient attack someone who reached mid-level Expert could use against a swordsman below them!
Dealing with the delinquent fellow, frozen like a mouse before a snake, would be easier than eating cold Stew, so this was indeed the best move he could use.
“Match start!”
Hoo-woooook-!
The second participant, convinced of this, unleashed a powerful aura the moment the referee declared the start of the match.
Tatat
Swiiiish-!
As if asking what good that was, the opponent, showing no sign of being affected, charged rapidly towards him.
* * *
“Don’t be scared.”
“Yes?”
“I said don’t be scared. I’m not just saying that to cheer you up, really.”
“…”
“Looks like you still don’t get it, but you’ll know once you get on the stage, probably.”
Right before stepping into the match.
Until he heard Boss Eddy’s words, Pale had thought it was just the usual words of encouragement.
In a way, it was natural.
No matter how hellish the training they endured over the past five months, the opponent was a mid-level Expert swordsman.
He felt sorry saying this to Boss Harang, but merely holding out with all his might was his only goal.
However, the moment he stepped onto the stage.
The moment his eyes met those of the Portville direct family member, his opponent, he got a feeling.
This fight, seemed like it had a good chance of victory.
That if you stripped away the Portville family name, the opponent before him was just a late-20s brat lacking experience compared to his skill level.
“Match start!”
Hoo-woooook-!
That feeling turned into conviction right after the match began, upon facing the opponent's presence.
‘I can… win!’
It felt light. It was laughable.
He wouldn't have been able to think this way before.
Just when facing the assassin Daereon, he hadn't been able to move a muscle, like a frog before a snake.
There was a reason why mid-level Experts were treated as proper powerhouses in the world of swordsmen.
But now, Pale could only feel laughter bubbling up.
Because it was just three months ago that he had overcome a presence several times—no, tens of times—more terrifying and dreadful than this!
Tatat
Swiiiish-!
Pale, filled with courage, charged forward rapidly.
The opponent's rapidly enlarging face, his flustered eyes, came into view.
He grinned and thrust his sword.
It was the precise thrust Boss Eddy had shown him.
Ttaak-!
Blocked.
The wooden sword, swung as the opponent pulled his left foot back, deflected his attack.
A slight sense of disappointment arose, then vanished instantly.
‘Right. Even without a surprise attack, I can definitely win!’
Pale steadied his mind.
It wasn't a thought forced out by squeezing non-existent confidence.
The presence felt from the opponent, his emotions, atmosphere, and various other things.
It was a well-founded thought derived from synthesizing all of that.
“Haaaap!”
Pale let out a fierce kiai.
“Heup!”
His opponent flinched in surprise.
In contrast, Pale's mind was utterly calm and clear.
The senses honed while facing Harang grasped the opponent's breathing, and the confidence built while facing Daereon boosted his ability to act.
Undeterred by the fact that his opponent was stronger, Pale swung his sword down at the optimal timing.
Swiiiish-!
Top-left to bottom-right.
Faced with the tricky trajectory of the sword strike, the opponent hastily thrust his wooden sword mid-inhale.
It was the direction Pale wanted.
Using the rebound from the clash of swords to swing his sword to the opposite side, he saw the opponent fluster again.
‘This is, interesting.’
That's right. It was interesting.
The thrill of gaining the upper hand against a mid-level Expert powerhouse!
The sense of accomplishment coming from the fact that his efforts so far had not betrayed him!
It made Pale's movements lighter. It made his rhythm nimbler.
Hwik, hwiik
Hwiiik-!
Swinging, slashing, thrusting.
Swaek-!
Hwoong, hoo-woong!
“Keuk!”
Again, swinging, slashing, thrusting.
Under the relentless barrage of attacks, the Portville direct family member's sword also moved busily.
Watching the clash of the two, moving as if performing a fierce dance, the expressions of the Portville family members noticeably darkened.
Among them, the one whose heart felt heaviest was none other than the family's next head, Asael Portville.
‘How could this happen…!’
He couldn't understand.
They were just delinquent brats.
Not Silver Plate Mercenaries from a large mercenary corps, but merely scrubs who barely scraped by at the low-level Expert rank.
But what was this sight before him now?
Wasn't it like the appearance of a seasoned veteran master of real combat!
Of course, since they hadn't learned orthodox, pedigree swordsmanship, weaknesses were exposed here and there.
It was happening right now too.
Thanks to a series of inefficient movements, the family's swordsman was able to escape the flow of being pushed back.
Seeing him regain some composure, it seemed unlikely he would suffer a disastrous defeat like the first one.
However, thinking this way was itself the problem.
Regaining composure?
Barely escaping a defensive position?
A child of the great Portville family? Against a delinquent living off the back alleys?
‘This… This, makes no sense…’
“Son.”
It was then.
The Portville Family Head, Philip Portville, who had remained silent until now, called him in a warm tone.
Asael Portville turned his stiff neck to look at his father.
The cold eyes within the kindly smiling face met his.
“Your preparations seem rather lacking.”
“Ah, Father! This is…”
“It’s alright. It can happen. Regardless of the children being underprepared, the skills of those delinquent fellows are impressively beyond imagination. Just looking at their movements, anyone would say mid-level Expert… It’s only natural for inexperienced children to struggle. But…”
After a brief pause, Philip Portville continued speaking.
“Regardless of the outcome of this match, I feel I must postpone passing the family headship to you for a little while longer.”
“…”
“If you have excuses, try making them.”
“…No, Father.”
Asael Portville replied belatedly.
Philip Portville nodded and turned his head away, and Asael could do nothing but silently grind his teeth.
Regardless of that, the fight between Pale and the direct family member continued fiercely.
It might have been a different story with real swords, but in terms of wooden sword dueling alone, their skills were so evenly matched that neither could overwhelm the other.
Pale had the advantage in practical experience and physical ability, while the Portville swordsman held superiority in high-level swordsmanship and the total amount of Aura.
Twenty minutes had already passed, yet neither had gained a decisive advantage, and the clash continued.
The one thing that broke that precarious balance was stamina.
“Heok, heok…!”
“Hoo-up, hup!”
The Portville swordsman gasped harshly, as if his lungs would spill out.
In contrast, Pale, though showing signs of fatigue, still seemed to have energy remaining, catching his breath rhythmically.
The atmosphere on the Portville side grew heavy.
The difference in stamina between the two was severe, obvious to anyone watching.
On the Eddy Family side, however, the atmosphere was one of expectation.
Considering the terrifying stamina training of the past five months, such a reaction was inevitable.
‘Sure, no matter how tough the training of a swordsmanship family is…’
‘Could it be tougher than Boss Harang’s hell training?’
‘No way. As if noble family young masters like them would have ever endured such rough training!’
Their thoughts were correct.
If Asael Portville had strictly enforced training under the Family Head's orders, the situation might not have unfolded this way, but the deed was already done.
In the worst possible way that no one in the family had ever imagined.
“…Winner, Pale of the Eddy Family.”
“Yes! Haa, hoo… Yes! I, I won!”
Pale roared loudly.
Normally, they would have bellowed about which delinquent brat dared to shout in the heart of the Portville family's home, but now, they absolutely couldn't.
Another defeat following the one-sided loss in the first match!
The shock it brought was truly comparable to being struck by lightning.
This wasn't an empty saying.
As if truly no one had expected it, the members of the Portville family, without exception, wore expressions of utter bewilderment.
Because they were a family that believed without a doubt they would become one of the leading prestigious families not just in Marzen but in the kingdom, because they harbored pride even greater than their skills, the current defeat felt even larger and more immense.
“Next, I shall go out.”
“…”
“…”
Furthermore, an even more worrying fact was that the Eddy Family's third participant was none other than Harang.
‘That bastard…’
‘Just what level of skill does he possess?’
He was already a fellow with skills that couldn't be ignored.
Although he was a street urchin with an unclear background, the guy had shown a performance impressive enough to hold his own against Carbin Portville, who possessed the best skills among his age group.
If he was the one who had taught the previous two, then Harang's skills could be judged to be far superior even to what was expected.
‘Damn it, what should I do?’
The third participant's expression darkened.
It wasn't easy.
The pressure of having to secure victory against the opponent's strongest player while bearing the title of the final hope… was too heavy a burden for someone only in his late twenties.
Seeing him wear a defeated expression even before starting, the Family Head opened his chilly eyes, and Asael Portville's expression also turned frigidly stiff.
The atmosphere was bad in many ways.
It was then.
“Hey, worthless trash.”
The originator of this incident, the Ruffian Carbin Portville, who had only kept silent until now, leaped onto the stage.
Holding not a wooden sword, but a real sword.
Woo-woo-woong-!
“Come out, Harang.”
“…”
“If you’re a proper bastard, quit this child’s play like a wooden sword duel, and come out with a real sword. Come out and let’s have a proper fight.”
“…”
“Why? Scared? Was the sword at your waist just decoration? Is it only used occasionally when you’re showing off in front of merchants?”
An utterly rude remark.
Perhaps normally, most of the family elders would have frowned.
Complaining that Carbin was the problem, that his tone lacked even a speck of noble dignity.
But this time was different.
Because the situation was just that bad.
“Right, there was that guy.”
“That fellow’s ruffian nature is helpful in a situation like this.”
Of course, they knew too. That this was an absurd tantrum.
But it couldn't be helped.
If they didn't seize even this kind of nitpicking to turn the atmosphere around, if they didn't change the rules from using wooden swords to real swords… the flow of the bet was heading towards such a worst-case scenario that they might really have to watch the family lose.
Of course, they didn't really think the rules would change.
From the Eddy Family's perspective, that was natural.
Having already secured two consecutive wins with wooden swords, why would they change the rules to favor Portville?
No matter how uneducated the delinquents were, the family members thought they weren't stupid enough to fall hook, line, and sinker for Carbin's cheap provocation.
However, a moment later.
The answer that came from Harang's lips defied everyone's expectations.
“Alright.”
“…”
“Why the face? I said alright.”
Instantly, fury clouded the faces of everyone on the Portville family side, including Carbin.