Chapter 261
Banatel was a commoner born in a small fief in the southern region of the Holy Basutalon Empire.
Born as the son of a self-sufficient farmer, he did not live a life of luxury like the nobility, but he still had a relatively stable childhood without much hardship. His family had enough means to allow him to learn swordsmanship at a small martial hall within the fief.
That martial hall was not established by a proper swordsman. It was merely a small place run by an old soldier who had retired from the imperial army and taught children to make a living. As such, the only swordsmanship taught there was the official Imperial Swordsmanship of the Holy Basutalon Empire.
Imperial Swordsmanship was a standardized style taught to all imperial soldiers. Because of its universal nature, it contained no profound techniques or secret arts. It was purely composed of simple eight-directional slashes, thrusts, and basic footwork.
However, that did not mean Imperial Swordsmanship was a poorly designed style. Precisely because of its broad applicability, it was a discipline that placed great emphasis on fundamental skills. It was a structured swordsmanship system that anyone with a sound body could master through diligent training.
In fact, many of the empire’s renowned knights and swordsmanship schools chose Imperial Swordsmanship as the foundational training for young children. After all, it was an age-old truth in the martial world that a solid foundation was the key to reaching greater heights.
The young Banatel learned Imperial Swordsmanship more diligently and steadfastly than anyone else. His exceptional skills eventually made him an unrivaled warrior, not only within the martial hall but in the entire region.
People often said Banatel lacked natural talent, but such remarks only held weight when compared to geniuses capable of awakening Aura. Among the ignorant folk of his rural fief, his sheer physical prowess alone made him unmatched.
Having gained confidence in his swordsmanship, Banatel left home at the age of twenty and set out for the capital.
Becoming a knight required noble lineage. No matter how strong he became in a rural fief, the highest rank he could achieve was that of a commander leading soldiers. For a commoner to rise through the ranks using only his sword, he had no choice but to make a name for himself as a mercenary in the capital. Occasionally, renowned mercenaries were knighted by provincial nobles despite their lowly birth.
Upon arriving in the capital, Banatel joined the Wiron Mercenary Corps, which was famous at the time, and began his career as a swordsman. Initially, he was just a rookie mercenary, but as time passed and he experienced numerous battles, he gradually built a reputation as "the swordsman who wielded Imperial Swordsmanship."
There was no one who wielded a sword, mercenary or otherwise, who didn't know about Imperial Swordsmanship. Since it was the standard-issue technique taught in the army, it was incredibly easy to learn. However, Imperial Swordsmanship was merely a foundation; it was not a style meant for practical combat.
It was common for mercenaries who hadn't learned a proper sword style to rely on Imperial Swordsmanship. Even so, they never used it in its pure form. The norm was to modify it, incorporating unorthodox moves acquired through mercenary life to develop a unique swordsmanship of their own.
But Banatel was different.
Using only the simple techniques of Imperial Swordsmanship, he cut down not just renowned mercenaries but even knights. His sword was so fast and powerful that, despite seeing the trajectory of his strikes, most couldn't evade or block them in time.
His skill alone was impressive, but it was this peculiarity that made Banatel truly famous.
Yet, despite his growing reputation, he had not become strong enough to surpass the barrier of status. His fundamentals were solid, but the world was not so kind as to be conquered through fundamentals alone. There were times when he lost, times when he was wounded, and times when he barely escaped death.
Each time, people around him would offer advice.
Don’t cling to the basics.
For the love of the gods, learn some variations.
The story of a warrior becoming the strongest by mastering a single technique is just that, a story. It doesn’t happen in real life.
Banatel agreed with them.
He wasn’t an idiot. The idea that one could become a true master by perfecting a single thrust might have held some weight in the distant past, before magic had advanced, before information about martial arts could be preserved.
But this was an era where mages were everywhere, where the magic towers produced all kinds of enchanted artifacts. With recording magic and crystal projection, techniques could be analyzed and dissected. One absolute technique wasn’t enough to secure victory anymore. He might be able to defeat a few people at first, but the moment his moves were exposed, it would be over. The instant an opponent prepared a countermeasure, he would have no other means to fight back.
He understood.
Banatel fully grasped the logic behind their words.
But what was he supposed to do when he simply couldn’t apply variations?
Banatel did not stubbornly cling to the fundamentals because he enjoyed it. He had tried various methods in his own way. However, he simply could not grasp the essence of anything beyond them. Of course, he could imitate advanced techniques to some extent, but the moment he deviated even slightly from the proper sword trajectory, both his power and speed would plummet to the level of an ordinary soldier.
Even mercenaries far weaker than him would pick up new techniques and adapt them in various ways, yet such flexibility was impossible for him.
But Banatel never despaired. His will was far too steadfast to allow for that.
If he kept practicing, he would improve.
If he kept training, he would get there.
If others trained for a day, he would train for ten. If they trained for a month, he would train for a year. How could it be that he, a man with the same eyes, nose, mouth, and limbs as any other, would be unable to achieve what they did?
…But he couldn’t.
Perhaps people were simply born with certain innate talents. No matter how much he tried, no matter how much he repeated the effort, his sense for advanced techniques remained astonishingly stagnant.
Yet Banatel did not feel disheartened. His instincts never sharpened, but in exchange, he gained something transcendent.
As the saying goes, those who dig a single well will quench their thirst the fastest.
Despite continuing to wield nothing but the simple techniques of Imperial Swordsmanship, Banatel awakened Aura at a relatively young age, his mid-thirties.
Everyone around him was shocked. Banatel, once merely a captain in the Wiron Mercenary Corps, had suddenly become an Aura User, a transcendent among transcendent warriors. Until just yesterday, he had fought shoulder to shoulder with his fellow swordsmen, but now he had soared far beyond their reach.
The way the world looked at him changed. The most powerful nobles in the empire sent him letters, hoping to recruit him. Kings of foreign nations even promised him a count’s title and his own fief.
His childhood dream had finally come true. Banatel felt satisfied. His belief had not been wrong. In the end, there was nothing that could not be achieved through effort.
Among the countless invitations, Banatel chose to become a Captain of the Holy Basutalon Empire’s Order of Knights.
Compared to the foreign titles and lands he had been offered, the position might have seemed lacking. But Banatel, above all else, was a citizen of the Holy Basutalon Empire, a man who had trained in its swordsmanship. He had no desire to abandon his homeland and serve another nation.
There was also the simple fact that he had no great ambition for worldly power. In his youth, he had wished for status, but after awakening Aura, his desire as a warrior grew stronger, to reach even greater heights in the martial path.
In that sense, the position of Captain of the Holy Basutalon Empire’s Order of Knights was an ideal role for honing his swordsmanship.
The Holy Basutalon Empire provided the utmost convenience to Aura Users who pledged loyalty to the Emperor. All tedious administrative tasks were handled by others, and knights were even permitted to leave the order and roam the continent freely to train as warriors. With generous treatment and unparalleled freedom, one could dedicate themselves entirely to the way of the sword.
The empire, with its long history, understood well that the stricter the restrictions placed on an Aura User, the harder it was for them to reach higher realms of mastery. The Imperial Order of Knights already had a significant number of Aura Users from common backgrounds like Banatel, making it a comfortable place for him.
Even after joining the Imperial Order of Knights, Banatel remained steadfast, training only in what he could do best. Others often clicked their tongues, saying he showed little progress for an Aura User, but he paid them no mind.
He had already experienced firsthand the results of his unwavering perseverance. There was no reason for him to waver.
Thus, five years passed.
Most of his time was spent training within the empire, but there were occasions when he had to go outside. Sometimes, it was for the sake of the empire’s honor; other times, it was to assist noble patrons who supported the knights. While training was important, avoiding real combat would only make one a master of the training hall. Knowing this well, Banatel never refused requests for aid.
One spring, just after turning forty, Banatel found himself at the borders of the Duchy of Lastil, assisting a merchant group from Chatan in a battle against a noble family.
As an Aura User, Banatel's power was overwhelming. The knights and soldiers of the noble family were no match for him.
In desperation, the noble family spent a fortune, enough to shake their entire household, to hire a renowned Aura User who happened to be staying in the duchy at the time.
It was then that Banatel met him for the first time.
A hulking, monstrous figure with a body like an iron tower.
A man who had made his name as an Aura User for nearly twenty years, Fist King Gerard.
* * *
Banatel charged toward Gerard, drawing and swinging his sword in a single motion.
Flash!
A crimson Blade Aura flared as his attack struck Gerard’s chest in an instant. It was an attack of terrifying speed, as if the entire motion had skipped the middle process entirely.
Until now, Banatel had only relied on his overwhelming Aura reserves to deliver slow, deliberate attacks. But against Gerard, he had to go all out.
Russ and Tassid gaped in shock.
Fast… too fast!
If that slash had been aimed at them earlier, their heads would have been severed before they even realized what had happened. Banatel had truly been holding back. Even with their enhanced vision as Aura Users, they couldn’t follow the speed of his sword.
But Gerard had already raised his Aura Guard across his entire body.
“Hah! I don’t even need to use Spiral Guard against this!”
Banatel’s slash had reached the pinnacle of refinement, but at its core, it was still just a basic horizontal cut. Someone of Gerard’s caliber could predict it with ease.
Gerard spread his chest wide, golden flames flaring up to meet the crimson Aura.
Kwaang!
The two colors of Aura clashed, letting out a deafening scream.
In the battle of Aura, Banatel had the upper hand. His crimson energy broke through the golden light and burrowed into Gerard’s flesh. A thunderous explosion rang out, and behind Gerard, a massive shockwave erupted, sending out destructive ripples across the land.
Retracting his sword, Banatel let out an exclamation.
“You’ve gotten even tougher, Gerard!”
His Blade Aura had clearly pierced through Gerard’s Aura Guard. Yet, that steel-like hulk of a man had effortlessly absorbed the remaining force with nothing but his raw physique.
“Bwahaha! And you haven’t gotten the least bit sharper!”
The power behind Banatel’s Blade Aura was immense, but its cutting force was underwhelming. Gerard laughed heartily, his voice full of mockery.
Banatel scowled.
“Yeah! Like hell I’d know how to do that stuff anyway!”
Most seasoned Aura Users enhanced their cutting and piercing capabilities by vibrating or rotating their Aura. But despite being Sword Star, Banatel couldn’t do anything of the sort.
However…
“If it doesn’t break in one strike, I’ll just hit it ten times!”
Gripping his sword, Banatel increased his speed and unleashed eight slashes in an instant, the fundamental Eight-Way Slash of Imperial Swordsmanship.
Unlike other Aura Users, who executed eight continuous slashes with intricate movements, the Eight-Way Slash was a true beginner’s technique. Strike once, reset the stance. Strike again, reset the stance. Repeat eight times. It was the most basic of all forms.
Yet, instead of just swinging his arms like other swordsmen, Banatel moved his entire body, and that made him faster!
His movements were so rapid that his form became blurred, and the eight slashes seemed to merge into a single simultaneous attack. Gerard clicked his tongue in disbelief.
‘Ah, this bastard… He’s still stupidly strong.’
He couldn’t perform the Eight Consecutive Strikes that everyone else could, yet he had somehow mastered the impossible, executing eight strikes simultaneously.
Banatel clearly lacked finesse, but at the very least, the techniques he could perform were faster, stronger, and more precise than anyone else’s.
It was an incredible yet utterly inefficient combination attack. Watching Banatel’s brute-force swordsmanship, Gerard grumbled to himself.
Damn it, why does the world call me simple-minded when there’s a guy like him running around?
Even as he thought that, Banatel’s slashes closed in from all directions, targeting Gerard’s vital points. The technique was painfully straightforward, predictable, even. If he wanted to, he could dodge it. To an outsider, it looked like a storm of instantaneous slashes, but for Fist King Gerard, an opponent on the same level, it was manageable.
But Gerard had no intention of dodging.
For Gym Unbreakable, there is no such thing as evasion!
“Spiral Guard!”
A golden whirlwind erupted around his towering 2.5-meter frame. The intense vortex of Aura turned into a violent storm, shredding Banatel’s incoming Blade Aura into nothingness.