Chapter 5: Relentless Fighting

Beran stared at Wang Yu in open-mouthed shock, failing to process what he had just witnessed.

That damn magician had been killed in an instant, and the squire ought to have been imprisoned in the woodshed.

How could he be standing before him now and even challenging him to a duel between knights?

All this had happened in the blink of an eye, so quickly that even Beran, who thought himself worldly and experienced, wasn't able to come to terms with the situation.

As Wang Yu waited for Beran's response, his sword still held high, Beran quickly came to terms with this astonishing reality.

His lips curled into something between a grimace and a smile.

"No real reason for us to fight, is there? How's this? I'll free you and give you some gold. Then, let's let bygones be bygones."

"Of course not," Wang Yu replied. "Only one of us can live today—or perhaps we'll both die. Don't try to run away, coward. Face me in an honorable battle! Once one of us dies, that's the end of our feud, too."

Wang Yu, with sword and shield in hand, was poised for battle.

Beran swallowed a gulp of saliva. He was too wary to engage in direct combat with Wang Yu.

Someone perverse like him, who cared little for others' lives, was frequently more afraid of death than the average person.

After all, if there weren't something about life that he valued deeply, he wouldn't derive so much pleasure from killing others.

"Fine, fine." Beran waved a hand in exasperation. "Let me prepare."

He motioned for Wang Yu to do the same—a warm-up or some stretches, perhaps.

Wang Yu remained cool and impassive. He didn't agree; he didn't speak.

Beran couldn't help but feel pressured by his stoic demeanor. A bead of sweat dripped down from his forehead and landed in his eye in a burst of discomfort.

Beran blinked a few times, swallowed once again, then suddenly roared, "Enemy attack! Gather at the central manor!"

Wang Yu sighed and shook his head. "I knew it. A bastard like you would never fight me head-on. You're going to keep relying on such vile tricks, aren't you?"

Beran's roar echoed throughout the area, but no one responded to his summons.

His frown deepened. Just what had this squire done?

His subordinates should all have gathered the moment they heard his signal. The fact that they hadn't...

He glared at Wang Yu, seeking an explanation as to this turn of events.

Wang Yu wasn't in the habit of answering his enemies' questions. He remained in his combat stance, silent and immobile.

"Fine. Fine! I don't know what you did, but you've forced my hand."

Beran licked the corners of his lips. He had no choice save a direct confrontation, it seemed.

A direct confrontation would never have been his first option.

"In that case, let the battle..." Beran began.

Out of nowhere, he trailed off and began charging forward. He shot to Wang Yu's side, the tip of his sword arcing toward Wang Yu's left arm and elbow, to which Wang Yu's shield was strapped.

Wang Yu seemed to have been prepared for Beran's dishonorable actions. He was focused; his guess had been correct.

Any ordinary bandit would have charged directly at Wang Yu, or attacked him from the side not blocked by his shield.

Beran, however, had shot straight toward Wang Yu's shield. This was a clear sign that he had been trained in fighting against shielded opponents.

This level of training, as far as Wang Yu knew, could only have been achieved in a rare few dojos—or the army.

"He really is a deserter, isn't he? No wonder."

Wang Yu predicted Beran's next actions according to the military swordsmanship that the old knight Reynard had taught him.

Beran had chosen to attack Wang Yu's shield-bearing side, which was less agile due to the presence of the shield and awkward to attack with his sword hand.

In that case...

Beran dashed forward with explosive force, making use of his advanced physique at 1.2x the human maximum. A single leap brought him straight toward Wang Yu.

The sword thrust toward Wang Yu's wrist. Beran's goal was to render him incapable of holding up his shield.

Just as the longsword was about to stab Wang Yu, Wang Yu released the shield, the straps of which he had unfastened beforehand. The shield fell to the ground, and Beran's rapid thrust struck nothing but air.

The momentum of his blow left him overextended, and he tipped forward slightly after having missed.

Taking advantage of Beran's lapse in concentration, Wang Yu kicked the shield forward with explosive force.

The shield was launched in the air straight at Beran's chest. This was a cunning blow; Beran was caught off-guard by the unexpected attack. Something in his body snapped.

Beran staggered back as Wang Yu launched himself forward, his longsword arcing through the air in a horizontal sweep. The sword whistled as it cut toward Beran's exposed shoulder.

Beran panicked and ducked down, raising his sword in defense.

The two swords clashed against each other with a shower of sparks.

Wang Yu sighed in exasperation.

Beran, on the other hand, appeared momentarily shocked before anger and malice took over his expression.

Wang Yu's blow had been far too weak. Wang Yu had had the advantage, while he had raised his guard in haste. Perhaps he would have been able to withstand the blow regardless, but it shouldn't have been so easy. This level of strength—Wang Yu certainly wasn't a knight-in-training.

No, he was just a squire, wasn't he?

"Damn it!" Beran belatedly realized that he had been scared of nothing more than a squire.

He was a knight-in-training himself, and Wang Yu was but a squire. Between his 1.2x multiplier and Wang Yu's 0.8x multiplier was a 0.4x difference, one applied to essentially all physical parameters: strength, speed, defense, and even responsiveness. Beran's attributes trumped Wang Yu's to an unreasonable extent.

Even so, Wang Yu's strange behavior and cool temperament had managed to trick Beran, leaving him insulted and angry.

"Damn it! You dare play around with me?!"

He glared at Wang Yu, who stood poised with a sword in his right hand and his discarded shield before Beran's feet. Beran's sword subconsciously traced arcs in the air, as if he were about to behead Wang Yu.

Wang Yu remained cool and impassive, showing none of the fear or worry Beran had expected. Beran grew even more displeased.

"Die!" Beran took a step and swept forward with his sword, a diagonal slash upward.

Beran's swordsmanship was uncommonly good. Coupled with his physique, his blade was fast and deadly.

Though Wang Yu was alert and focused, the difference in strength and speed meant that it took him all his strength just to block Beran's strike.

The momentum of Beran's strike caused Wang Yu to stagger. He stumbled back, giving Beran the advantage.

Beran smirked. He had slashed upward; now, he swung downward straight at Wang Yu's head.

Wang Yu knew he wouldn't be able to defend against the blow directly, so he had no choice but to try to dodge. Even so, his speed was still lacking.

The blade sliced off a chunk of his ear in a spray of blood as Beran took another step forward.

In truth, his advantage wasn't from skilled swordsmanship or anything of the sort. It was simply his overwhelming physique.

Beran's speed, strength, and fortitude were far beyond Wang Yu's, leaving him all but incapable of doing anything besides dodging and blocking, let alone counterattacking.

All Beran used was basic military swordsmanship.

That said, Wang Yu wasn't a particularly skilled swordsman himself. He had only been training with the sword for half a year, far shorter than Beran had.

Wang Yu seemed to have no advantages whatsoever.

As Beran rampaged, Wang Yu's body grew battered and bruised. Cuts leaked blood all over his body where he had made mistakes in combat or simply couldn't dodge Beran's blows.

But although his blood was forming a small stream in the ground, he remained calm and focused, his intensity unwavering.

The next moment, Beran flicked his sword up and forcibly knocked away Wang Yu's blade with brute strength, then thrust his sword straight toward Wang Yu's chest.

He smirked. He was certain Wang Yu wouldn't be able to guard himself in time.

The next moment, however, Beran's eyes widened. He was forced to abort his attack. Wang Yu hadn't defended at all—he had mirrored Beran's stance, with a sword poised to thrust straight into Beran's chest.

Without question, Beran would be able to penetrate Wang Yu's chest, but the next moment, Wang Yu would do the same to him.

Cold sweat broke out over his forehead. Beran forcibly aborted his attack, causing his body to shake violently. Fierce anger suffused him.

"Damn it, you madman!" he roared. He was incensed and simultaneously chilled by Wang Yu's madness Wang Yu remained silent. He slashed at Beran with his sword, but to little avail. Beran's superior physique meant that he could easily parry or dodge, whereas Wang Yu would have to do so deliberately and perfectly to have a chance to neutralize Beran's blows at all.

Even so, as the fighting continued, Wang Yu's focus didn't flag. His only advantage lay in his fighting spirit.

Beran didn't want to die and didn't dare to die, but Wang Yu thought little of death. He attacked without caring for defense.

Beran, on the other hand, refused to take such a risk. Even when he found a weakness in Wang Yu's defense and would be able to kill him in one swift blow, he might well face serious injury from Wang Yu's final attack.

In this era with little medical expertise, a serious injury could easily bode death or permanent disability.

Though he grew increasingly infuriated as the fighting progressed, Beran remained rational. The two swords clinked against each other again and again, though one side was notably disadvantaged. Wang Yu continued to retreat and dodge as Beran pursued his opponent.

Even so, whenever Beran was about to take Wang Yu's life, Wang Yu would go into a crazed fury that forced Beran back.

What should have been a one-sided fight therefore ended up in a fragile equilibrium, but Beran's stamina would win out in the long run.

Beran was changing his approach. He was no fool; he understood where his strengths lay.

Rather than go for a quick victory, he could slowly whittle down Wang Yu bit by bit until his body was scarred, wounded, and bleeding all over. Then, he would take down Wang Yu in an intense spar once Wang Yu's stamina was drained.

Things were proceeding according to plan. Wang Yu was breathing heavily now. Beran began to retreat as he attacked, luring Wang Yu forward.

Beran's speed and strength allowed him to punish Wang Yu whenever he made a mistake. Blood wept from cuts all over his body.

The blood was representative of Wang Yu's lost stamina. Beran's thrusts and feints were draining Wang Yu's stamina at an accelerated rate.

Black spots appeared before his eyes, and his vision became blurry, a symptom of blood loss.

Though Wang Yu could continue fighting with willpower alone, the moment that too ran out, he would lose all ability to resist.

Even so, Wang Yi's stoic expression never shifted.

As the fighting progressed, Beran, who held the upper hand and had more time to analyze his opponent, discovered a few small tics that Wang Yu hadn't corrected.

After being struck by a powerful blow and forced to retreat, Wang Yu would subconsciously swing his left arm to maintain balance. During that time, his left arm would be unguarded.

Beran realized that, if he could chop off Wang Yu's left arm, then Wang Yu would no longer pose a threat at all.

He parried Wang Yu's sword and knocked it aside with his superior strength. Rather than charge forward for another cut, however, he took a deep breath, roared, and thrust his sword at Wang Yu's blade at accelerated speed.

The speed and strength of the attack were difficult to block. Wang Yu was forced to retreat and stumble back to retain his balance.

Strength exploded from Beran's body as he drew on his fighting spirit. Knights-in-training had access to a wellspring of power situated in their lower abdomen, though in a rather raw, limited, and undeveloped state, and over which they had little control. Beran circulated his fighting spirit throughout his body and manifested it in the form of aura.

His exhaustion faded; his body seemed replete with strength once more.

Beran had struck at Wang Yu's blade with his full strength. Under ordinary circumstances, there would be an opening for Wang Yu to exploit, but with his aura manifest, Beran was able to maintain his strength and speed without flagging.

His sword sliced downward in a spray of blood.

Beran chopped off Wang Yu's left hand at the wrist, causing blood to fountain from his stump. The sight of bone, blood, and flesh was harrowing.

Wang Yu's hand fell to the ground and became stained with dirt and filth.

Shock flitted across Wang Yu's face, surprising and stimulating Beran.

This expressionless fellow before him was a man, after all! He had weaknesses that could be exploited. This damn madman could be rendered shocked and fearful!

Beran sneered. He luxuriated in causing others despair, especially someone like Wang Yu, who had shocked and scared even him.

Even so, before Beran's eyes, Wang Yu's expression grew cold and unfeeling once more, as if he were unaffected by the sudden loss of a hand.

Wang Yu had been angling for Beran's excitement. He was hoping that Beran would temporarily drop his guard at his perceived success. That moment of weakness would be sufficient to mitigate the difference in Wang Yu and Beran's physiques—at least when it came to speed.

While Beran's eyes widened in shock, Wang Yu thrust his stump of an arm at Beran's face.

This was Wang Yu's chance to strike. With his last reserves of energy, he struck at incredible speed. He shot straight toward Beran and obscured his vision with his blood. Beran staggered back in fright as he kicked blindly before him.

To his surprise, his kick landed. Something fell to the ground.

A sudden rage caught hold of Beran. Wang Yu had made a fool of him with his little tricks time and time again. He deserved to die. Beran was going to kill him!

Before he was knocked down, Wang Yu hadn't managed to kill Beran. In that case, Beran wouldn't let him get back up ever again. He might as well die right there on the ground!

He blinked his eyes forcefully, dislodging enough of the blood from his eyes to see a blurry figure slumped on the ground, his longsword some distance away. Blood continued to leak out of his stump. He looked like a pitiful wretch. Beran raised his longsword. "It's time for you to die!"

Suddenly, a crossbow whistled by his ear.

A duel? A fair duel? Wang Yu had never been planning on that from the very beginning...