BXBX NOVEL Chapter 480
“Fun it is.” Vincent agreed. *Clang, clang* He hit the metal gauntlets with one another and took a combat stance.
Vincent threw a strike, but Russo sidestepped, causing the strike to miss the target by a wide margin. A breeze of wind followed Russo, making Vincent believe Russo started using his spells without his notice.
[Vincent. I can see mana faintly swirling around Russo. He is boosting his speed. It looks like he is becoming serious gradually.]
[On the other hand, the gap between the two of you is becoming wider. So how about I assist?]
-Yes.- Vincent accepted.
Vincent clenched his toes to stop the momentum of his body from moving forward. He cleared his mind and trusted Kazumi to guide him like a game character being controlled by the player.
Russo grinned when he swiftly stood behind Vincent.
Russo swung his training sword, but to his surprise, Vincent moved forward quickly, evading the attack by a hair.
.....
“Looks like you weren’t bluffing. Your reaction speed is interesting, yet it feels strange. I feel as if I am being watched by a pair of eyes behind your back.” Russo expressed with a frown.
“Cat’s out of the bag. You found my second pair of eyes quickly. I am impressed.” Vincent joked, yet it was the truth.
“I like your humor, haha.” Russo joked. “Now I need to learn your interesting trick and make it mine.”
Vincent chuckled, “Try if you can.”
[... why do I feel like I am about to be traded for a laugh?]
Vincent and Russo continued this type of combat and joke exchange for a couple of minutes. The more time passed, the faster Russo became, and the more Vincent found the limitations of his body unable to keep up with Kazumi’s guidance.
The soldiers couldn’t believe how even if their captain was overwhelming Vincent with his speed and strength, he mysteriously couldn’t land a hit on Vincent.
However, the same could be said for Vincent. He was giving his all to move and block all the attacks. Vincent’s senses were becoming sharpened, yet it was insufficient when facing someone twice as strong as him.
[Block and twist body left, then use right hand to grab the sword. Destroy or crack the wooden sword with your weak Force Shock.]
As Kazumi guided, Vincent blocked the attack while twisting his body as if he could see the future. He swiftly extended his arm and grabbed the sword.
Previously, Vincent used Energy Flow to cover his metal gauntlets with a slightly heavy layer of mana. This allowed him to absorb the impact of the attacks instead of losing his balance from the recoil.
Vincent used the mana he previously utilized to brace for impact. He directed it into the wooden training sword, and uttered, “Force Shock.”
*Crack* The wooden blade grabbed by his hand cracked and became brittle. Vincent used a little force from his thumb to snap the blade half like a toothpick.
Russo didn’t falter. He swung his leg behind Vincent’s feet and knocked him to the ground. “Looks like your attention was somewhere else.” He said while pointing his wooden sword down.
“The winner is...”
“Give Captain Russo real swords. Let’s have a serious fight.” Vincent interrupted the referee.
“A competitive spirit, I see.” Russo looked at the referee and continued, “Let’s prepare for the final round as Lord Vincent Lionheart desires.”
Russo extended his hand and helped Vincent stand. “I hope you show me why teacher Koss decided to teach you the basics.” He said before going to his corner.
Vincent sat in his corner. Beside him was Sofy cleaning his uniform with a worried expression. There wasn’t the need to speak. ‘Are you hurt?’ or ‘How do you feel?’ Were being expressed by her face.
[You lost, but I am proud that you relied on me instead of your mutation.]
[Even if the audience comments about you not wanting to accept the result, I stand by your side no matter how much of a sore loser you...]
-I understand. So please do not spread that word on my face.-
[I know, I know. We need to win no matter what. I will cut you some slack.]
[And tease you later, hehehe.]
-...-
“Does the noble think he can beat our captain? He already lost once. Does he want to lose again?”
“Shhh! Keep quiet, or he might hear you. We will lose the chance to see a noble keep asking for a rematch and get humiliated.”
“I brought my friends over. Is the fight still ongoing?”
“Yeah. The noble lost, so he asked for a rematch and for our captain to become serious.”
“Ohh, snap. Things are about to get fiery.”
Vincent ignored the crowd as he got up and shortly arrived in front of Russo, wielding two swords. A frown appeared on his face when Russo was still without armor.
“Could you wear some protection?” Asked Vincent.
“Why don’t you wear protection.” Retorted Russo.
“I don’t...”
“I also don’t need protection.” Interrupted Russo.
*Sigh* “Fine.” Vincent grunted. He removed the metal gauntlets and gave them to the referee.
“What are you doing?” Asked Russo with a puzzled frown. He became confused to see Vincent without a way to defend himself from his blades.
Vincent turned his head at Sofy and winked at her. He looked back at Russo and smirked. “Let’s begin.” *Clap* “Overheat.”
The audience and Russo couldn’t take their eyes off Vincent. They couldn’t believe a skill that changed a person’s appearance extensively existed. Something beastman had, and humans didn’t, was now occurring in front of their eyes.
Some soldiers gulped at the sight of the green gauntlets releasing steam, green steam escaping from the edge of his lips, and a pair of radiant emerald eyes inflicting fear and intimidation. As if the gaze could pierce their souls.
“What is happening?” Many soldiers asked. Some felt chills while looking at Vincent. But they couldn’t understand why.
Sofy smiled when the frowning faces of the soldiers pleased her. After letting them suffer from curiosity and confusion for a couple of seconds, she decided to say, “My Master never used a class skill in the first two rounds because he likes to train. But now it looks like he will treat the spar seriously and win.”
The soldiers assumed Sofy was boasting about her owner like all slaves do to win favor. However, no matter how many times they tried to dismiss her statement, the thought of her words being true kept them wondering who was going to win.
“You better use everything at your disposal. ” Vincent said with an intimidating hoarse voice.
“Scary voice, hehe.” Russo joked. He clenched his swords with a firm grip and took a stance.
Vincent smirked and took a CQC stance. “Let’s start.”
Russo accepted the challenge and swung his blades. Once, twice, and soon a dozen times, yet Russo couldn’t land a hit on Vincent.
Instead of blocking, Vincent sidestepped and evaded each swing by a hair. However, once was lucky. A dozen times meant it wasn’t a coincidence anymore. It was a gap in their difference in power.
“Why is our captain playing with the noble now? Doesn’t he want to win?”
However, no one could answer the soldier’s question. All they could do was observe and recall the confidence Sofy displayed in Vincent.
Russo smiled, and the wind around him increased along with his speed. *Clang* His sword was finally blocked. However, his smile quickly turned into a frown when he felt the recoil, similar to hitting a metal wall and only leaving a scratch.
“No wonder you mentioned the previous gauntlets felt loose and strange. Your mysterious harder than metal gauntlets are fitted like cloth.” Russo assessed before saying, “But I must say, I have to go all out now, or I might lose.”
“Koss was also surprised when he saw my gauntlets. ” Vincent responded while casually blocking the fast sword swings attacks.
*Clang*
Vincent smiled and casually talked while blocking with great accuracy, “I ended up taking a beating one day. Afterward, Koss decided I was worthy of being taught by him when I showed him my resolve.”
*Clang*
“Honestly, it was hell every day, but watching Koss shocked about my progress became one of the silly reasons I could not stop. The other reason was because of those I had to protect.”
*Clang*
“I had to grow stronger because I am a little greedy. I don’t want to lose someone important to me, even when I face death in the eyes. I want to achieve a victory without a loss of life from my side as much as possible.”
*Clang*
“I want to protect those around me, but I recently realized how similar to one hand having five fingers with different strengths, one can not think they can do everything by themselves.”
Russo quickly figured out what Vincent was trying to convey with his intimidating hoarse voice.
*Clang* “So the private talk was to sponsor me?” *Clang*
The soldiers couldn’t accurately hear what the two combatants were saying because of the constant sound of a sword hitting an object with a metallic surface.
*Clang* “Yes, soon-to-be patrol captain and teacher of Koss’s sons, Lenn and Renn.” *Clang*
Russo felt his heart race when hearing about these two responsibilities. The conviction of winning and gaining more reputation to control arrogant sponsored soldiers was shaken.
Teaching the children of his teacher in their deceased father’s stead didn’t sound too bad to Russo. Nonetheless, Russo’s main goal was to comprehend what Koss saw in Vincent giving them the soldier’s training.