Chapter 17

‘Impressive!’

When Professor Ingeld saw Lee Han kick dirt into Derrigue’s face, his first thought was one of admiration.

-Do not hesitate to use any means necessary. There is only life and death.

While the nobles who learned swordsmanship for the sake of dignity and refinement looked down on dishonorable methods, swordsmen who fought for their lives in real combat valued victory above all else.

In that sense, Lee Han’s act of kicking up dirt was not bad at all. In fact, it was good.

Moreover, the fact that he did this while being watched by his peers, who were all looking on, was even more commendable.

At most, they were in their mid-teens, an age when they were full of vigor and pride.

Not only the nobles but also the knights disliked using underhanded methods.

Most students, due to their petty pride, would not use such methods even if they knew them.

However, Lee Han did not hesitate for a second and immediately kicked up the dirt.

Despite being from the most prestigious family here!

Only a swordsman who instinctively understood what swordsmanship was and was prepared to dedicate everything to it could do such a thing.

“Gah!”

Derrigue, caught off guard, spat out a curse.

Dirt filled his eyes, nose, and mouth, disorienting him.

‘Damn it! Such a cheap trick!?’

Derrigue was more angry with himself for letting his guard down than with the opponent who used a dishonorable method.

He had been told many times during his sword training that such situations could arise!

He had assumed, based on his own prejudices, that the opponent, being from a noble and prestigious family, would use a straight and proper style of swordsmanship.

‘I’ll end this quickly!’

With his posture broken, Lee Han stepped forward and charged at Derrigue.

Lee Han had practiced swordsmanship for quite a long time, but so had Derrigue.

Derrigue might have trained even harder and more rigorously than Lee Han. His posture alone was evidence of this.

If they were to clash properly, Lee Han himself did not know who would win.

So what should he do?

He needed to create a situation where he could win.

...Of course, Alarrong did not teach him to kick up dirt.

As a result, Alarrong was unknowingly receiving admiration from Professor Ingeld.

‘To teach such a thing, the master must be a truly ruthless person!’

“Gah... Damn it!”

“!”

Derrigue kicked the ground hard, spinning in the air and flying backward.

There was no proper posture. In his haste to create distance, Derrigue lost his balance and rolled backward.

“......”

“......”

Lee Han had not expected his opponent to roll backward like that.

‘What is this guy so desperate for...? Well, I did throw dirt at him.’

He had not thought that someone from a knightly family would roll on the ground like that...

Everyone was so shocked that the cheers of support fell silent.

Only Professor Ingeld clapped.

“Excellent, young students!”

“......”

“......”

Derrigue wiped the dirt from his face with his sleeve. Although his face was cleaner, his body was a mess from rolling in the dirt.

However, his eyes were even more fierce.

Lee Han clicked his tongue.

‘At least it wasn’t a waste.’

The opponent, having been hit with dirt and rolling on the ground, must have been quite agitated.

In a fight, the agitated one is more likely to make mistakes.

When the situation is evenly matched, psychological warfare is necessary.

“Gah!”

Derrigue shouted and charged.

* * *

‘He really fights well!’

Professor Ingeld marveled again.

While he had been impressed earlier by the two students’ willingness to use any means necessary, now he was purely impressed by their swordsmanship.

He had thought that among the new students, they were the most outstanding, but he did not expect this level.

First, Derrigue of the Choi family was displaying the Gosa Moon Sword technique beautifully.

As befitting a fast sword style, the wooden sword moved swiftly and rhythmically, piercing at Lee Han with a hissing sound.

Normally, the movements should have slowed down with each thrust and withdrawal, but Derrigue maintained his speed without slowing down.

This was possible because he infused a bit of magic power into the sword.

Even without the magic power, it would have been difficult to block the thrusts, but with the added magic power, it was an excessively harsh attack for a new student.

However, Lee Han of the Wodanaz family was not to be underestimated.

Tap.

“!”

Tap.

“!!”

Tap—

“!!!!”

The more Derrigue attacked, the more his expression became anxious and regretful.

Derrigue was stepping quickly and continuously to avoid being counterattacked.

While attacking, he tensed his entire body and thrust with all his might.

Otherwise, the speed of the sword would not have been possible.

While his fast and flashy attacks were possible, they were also very draining. Derrigue was already feeling out of breath.

However...

The opponent was like a rock, barely moving, and when a thrust came, he would simply tap it aside.

As if he could see all the attacks coming.

‘Damn it!’

Derrigue felt like he was stabbing a rock with a needle.

Even if he could predict the attacks, he did not expect the opponent to deflect them so easily.

‘Is the force behind the thrusts not enough? Why isn’t the opponent getting tired!’

Derrigue screamed inwardly.

At that moment, Lee Han was thinking something similar.

‘This guy looks like he’s about to pass out, why doesn’t he stop?’

The Wall Rock Sword technique that Lee Han had learned was a heavy and powerful style of swordsmanship.

Even trying to land a single blow on Derrigue was difficult because Derrigue was moving around frantically.

The only advantage Lee Han had was his better physical condition.

The opponent was agitated, had rolled on the ground, and his movements were much more intense. Most importantly...

Lee Han did not get tired when he infused a bit of magic power into his sword.

The magic power he had become aware of after starting to learn magic was surprising even to himself.

...Even after infusing a considerable amount of magic power into the sword for a long time, why wasn’t he getting tired?

However, even though Lee Han had the upper hand, he was not at ease.

Frankly, Derrigue’s attacks were quite fierce.

Each time he deflected an attack, the heavy force made his spine shiver.

If it were a real sword, even a slight graze would have torn his collar.

From the outside, it looked like Lee Han was blocking the attacks with ease, but he was actually putting in a lot of effort.

“Huff...!”

Finally, Derrigue was the first to collapse.

He held his breath and endured the screaming of his muscles, but mentally, he was the first to waver.

The opponent seemed too calm.

The Wodanaz family’s guy, with his expressionless face, blocking attacks as if they were nothing!

Looking into his eyes, Derrigue felt like he was already playing in the palm of his opponent’s hand.

‘What a pity.’

Professor Ingeld felt a sense of regret.

Although Derrigue collapsed first, Lee Han was also pushed to his limits.

Derrigue’s attacks were that fierce.

If Derrigue had known this, he might have been able to put in more effort.

However, Derrigue overestimated his opponent and collapsed on his own.

It was an inevitable mistake for someone so young.

Moreover, Lee Han of the Wodanaz family was already exuding the cold and intimidating aura characteristic of a high noble.

A handsome man who seemed like he wouldn’t even bleed if pricked with a needle had an advantage in swordsmanship.

Snap!

As Derrigue collapsed, Wodanaz immediately swung his wooden sword, knocking Derrigue’s sword away and stopping the tip of his sword at Derrigue’s throat.

“Enough! Wodanaz wins.”

Professor Ingeld said softly but firmly, indicating that he would not allow any further fighting.

The White Tiger Tower students let out sighs of disbelief.

Derrigue, the best among them, had lost!

“It’s unbelievable!”

“It’s because he threw dirt...”

“But Derrigue also rolled on the ground.”

“What are you saying, kid? It’s Derrigue’s fault?”

“Ah... No, sorry.”

Ignoring the murmuring students, Professor Ingeld spoke.

“Today, the two students showed truly excellent swordsmanship. Winning today does not guarantee future victories, and losing today does not mean you will always lose. The winner should be humble, and the loser should strive to improve. Bow to each other.”

Lee Han extended his hand and looked at his opponent.

Frankly, he expected the opponent to glare, spit, or tense up, or do something else.

Given the trouble the opponent had caused when Lee Han came to the lecture, he had a bad temper and had just been defeated in his proudest skill.

‘If he tries to punch me, I’ll use a low kick to knock him down and counter immediately.’

Lee Han narrowed his eyes, looking at his opponent, ready for any possible ambush.

Although Professor Ingeld was there, he had learned from the past that professors were not always reliable.

“...It was a good fight. I apologize for underestimating you. You are fully qualified to attend this lecture.”

“!”

However, Derrigue honestly apologized.

Lee Han checked to see if he was trying to lull him into a false sense of security, but there seemed to be no such intention.

Then...

“I was just worried. Don’t take it to heart.”

“......”

Snap—

Derrigue shook Lee Han’s hand and nodded. His eyes showed respect.

Clap, clap, clap—

Moved by the beautiful scene, Professor Ingeld clapped with a look of admiration.

Of course, the White Tiger Tower students looked very skeptical.

“What are you all doing? Why aren’t you clapping?”

“......”

Swish—

As Professor Ingeld frowned and drew his sword, the students hurriedly clapped.

Clap, clap, clap, clap!

* * *

“After such a humiliation, you won’t just leave it at that, right? Crush him.”

At the cold voice, the other White Tiger Tower students nodded.

However, Derrigue shook his head with a heavy expression.

“I lost because I was not good enough.”

“No! That guy won because he threw dirt!”

“No. Even if he hadn’t thrown dirt, I would have lost. And if I lost because of that trick, it’s because I was not good enough.”

Derrigue’s words caused a stir among the students.

Given his skill in swordsmanship, Derrigue’s words carried weight among the dormitory students.

However, the student with golden hair spoke coldly.

“I don’t care about that. What’s important is that our tower’s honor and pride were tarnished because of you. Take responsibility. Choi family.”

“......”

Jizel, who carried the bloodline of the Moradi family, spoke coldly.

Derrigue’s face hardened at her words.

Given the strong influence of the Moradi family among the northern knightly families, Derrigue could not easily ignore her.

“How can I take responsibility for losing because of my lack of skill?”

“It’s simple. If you lost alone, then go with a group.”

Before she finished speaking, two students stepped forward and stood beside Derrigue.

“Don’t worry, Derrigue. I’ll help you.”

“Three of us should be enough.”

“...Isn’t it shameful for a knight to gang up on one person?”

Derrigue struggled to speak, trying to prevent the situation from escalating.

Jizel smirked.

“You should have thought of that before you lost. Now that you’ve lost, you’re complaining?”

“......”

The reactions of the White Tiger Tower students were divided.

Half of them, who usually sided with the Moradi family.

And half who thought this was going too far.

However, even the latter half did not step forward.

Derrigue bit his lip and said,

“I refuse.”

“You’ll regret it.”

Jizel turned her gaze away, indicating she would not persuade him further.

“The coward is out. Including you, three. Go and teach Wodanaz a lesson.”

“I understand. Moradi.”

“Don’t worry.”

“......”

No matter how well Lee Han fought, it was 3 against 1. It was too disadvantageous.

Moreover, all three had been consistently training in swordsmanship.

Derrigue made a decision.

To stand by Lee Han for the sake of honor.

* * *

Snap!

“Wodanaz, you brat!! How dare you!!”

“...If the next one wants to lose, come closer.”

Lee Han spoke coldly. The two students, intimidated by his presence, involuntarily took a step back.

Derrigue, who had rushed to help, looked in shock at the fallen student.

What exactly happened?