Chapter 34: Recruitment (7)

The preceding 60 duels.

Watching countless applicants fall one by one, Lucas involuntarily swallowed hard.

*Gulp.*

‘Can I handle that monster?’

He felt it the moment he first saw Roman.

Monster.

There was no other way to describe it.

Just looking at him felt like a crushing pressure on his heart, and cold sweat formed on his forehead.

His palms were drenched in sweat, even though he didn’t have hyperhidrosis.

Lucas, who had sensed Roman’s danger from the beginning, couldn’t show a cheerful smile like the other applicants when Roman mentioned 120 duels.

Frontline.

In the realm of life and death, where one could die at any moment if they let their guard down, Lucas’s sensitive instincts had always saved his life.

This time was no different.

His instincts told him that his opponent was a monster he couldn’t handle, and based on his experience, the best strategy in such a situation was to avoid it.

A fight where defeat was certain.

He gritted his teeth.

Even if he passed the test and had to work for just 8 silver, he couldn’t bring himself to turn back.

‘This is the first time I’ve felt this way. I’ve witnessed Rankers on various battlefields, but no one has ever pressured me purely through their aura like this. Roman Dmitri is completely different from what I remember. He’s not the kind of person who will rot in the periphery; he will surely spread his wings and reach the continent someday.’

Lucas.

A B-rank mercenary.

People say he has reached a great position, but Lucas knew he wasn’t that great.

B-rank is the limit of effort.

An ordinary person might achieve B-rank by risking their life and working hard, but without the ability to use mana, the A-rank domain is unattainable.

From A-rank onwards, mere battlefield experience is not enough.

One needs overwhelming power to surpass others, and the basic condition for that is the awakening of mana.

Therefore.

Lucas had reached his limit.

After surviving this life-threatening situation, he realized that no matter how hard he tried, he had reached his limit.

To Dmitri.

It was a choice made in despair.

Lucas stood at a crossroads, and in a moment of longing for rest, he saw the notice that Roman was recruiting soldiers.

‘Roman said he would let me live the life of a predator if I followed him. I can’t rationally understand why I’m giving up the comfortable life of a B-rank mercenary to follow Roman, but I want to believe his words. Just for one year. I’ll verify if Roman’s words are true for one year. So.’

*Crack.*

He clenched his fist.

Stepping onto the stage, he gripped the sword he had prepared and looked at Roman.

‘First, I need to pass the test.’

“Start.”

*Clap.*

The start signal was given.

At the same time.

Lucas kicked off the ground.

In previous duels.

Except for the first one, no one had taken the initiative to attack first.

Seeing the giant man fall helplessly, everyone thought that taking the initiative was a very dangerous choice.

It was natural.

This duel.

The goal was not to win but to last for one minute.

Rushing in to take the initiative was no different from offering your neck to the opponent’s sword.

However.

Lucas thought differently.

‘If I waste even a moment, I won’t be able to withstand Roman’s attack. To last for one minute, I must take the initiative and control the attack. That’s the only way to win this match.’

It was a judgment based on instinct.

Once he made the decision.

His execution was bold.

Hesitation in the battlefield led to death, and Lucas, without a moment’s hesitation, aimed for Roman’s head and heart simultaneously.

*Whoosh!*

Lucas’s weapons were unique.

He used a slightly shorter sword in his right hand and a dagger in his left.

Both were wooden.

Roman provided different types of wooden weapons at the request of the applicants, and Lucas’s case was not the first.

However.

His attack style was unique.

Roman’s head and heart.

He aimed to cut off the head with the sword and stab the heart with the dagger.

*Swish.*

*Clang!*

Roman’s movements were concise.

He took a step back to avoid the dagger’s range and used his wooden sword to knock away the opponent’s sword.

Lucas quickly followed up.

He changed the direction of his sword, aiming to slice the neck, and threw the dagger in his other hand at Roman’s chest.

It was unconventional.

Although long-range attacks had never been used before, Roman blocked all the attacks with his sword.

‘As expected.’

It was a scene that elicited admiration.

Usually, relentless attacks would reveal a gap, but Roman was like a solid fortress.

His breath was stifled.

He wanted to step back to prepare for the next attack, but he couldn’t now.

‘Anyway, Roman doesn’t want to kill me. Even if I offer myself, I can’t let him take the initiative. Just 40 seconds. I just need to hold on for 40 seconds and then buy time after that.’

*Thud.*

He attacked even faster.

Pulling out another dagger from his waist, he launched a two-pronged attack again.

Suddenly.

*Chuckle.*

Roman smiled.

‘Not bad.’

It was decent.

Attacking without regard for one’s life was not a good choice in the battlefield, but Lucas seemed to have made a fitting judgment for the duel.

A man with instinctive senses.

Such types were very useful in the battlefield.

Lucas would likely pass the test with a high probability, but Roman didn’t intend to let him last for one minute.

One minute.

It was a wall.

To show how formidable his future lord was.

By making a strong impression in their first meeting, Roman aimed to gain the blind trust of the applicants.

‘Let’s end it here.’

*Whoosh!*

*Thud.*

It was instantaneous.

After deflecting the opponent’s attack, Roman’s combo attack broke through Lucas’s defense.

He couldn’t use his weapons in both hands.

Seeing Lucas’s face turn pale with shock, the people thought the match was over.

At that moment.

Lucas, who had thrown himself to the ground to avoid the attack, suddenly threw sand at Roman’s face.

*Whoosh!*

It was.

A clear foul.

In this duel.

There were no special rules.

Roman had only said to last for one minute, and Lucas had used any means necessary.

‘This is a fight for victory. To win this fight, I must do everything I can.’

Avoiding Roman’s attack.

It was a lucky judgment.

Considering the length of the opponent’s weapon, he had thrown himself to the ground and, fortunately, avoided the attack by a hair’s breadth.

Then he immediately threw the sand he had prepared in his pocket.

Thinking he couldn’t win under the same conditions, he intended to temporarily obstruct Roman’s vision.

*Whoosh!*

*Thud.*

The sand hit.

Seeing the dust rise, Lucas rolled on the ground and immediately charged like a bull.

Counterattack.

Now was the time to seize the momentum.

However.

When Lucas, who had reached Roman’s nose, raised his sword, his face turned pale as he looked up.

“Huh?!”

Roman.

He was looking at Lucas.

His mind was a jumble.

Lucas, who had thought Roman might avoid the sand, was speechless when he saw the sand in Roman’s eyes.

Roman had been hit by the sand.

The unconventional tactic had worked, but despite the stinging pain in his eyes, Roman kept his eyes open and clearly saw his opponent.

Red, bloodshot eyes.

Roman, who should have squeezed his eyes shut and cried out in pain, waited for Lucas to charge.

At that moment.

*Clap.*

“...I surrender.”

Lucas dropped his sword.

Raising his hands, he declared he had no intention of fighting further.

A quick surrender.

It was also a result of his experience in the battlefield.

Lucas’s plan.

Roman knew about it.

He had seen Lucas’s hand go into his pocket but wanted to see what he could do.

And.

He was hit by the sand.

Despite the stinging pain, he kept his eyes open and looked directly at Lucas.

‘Not taking your eyes off the opponent. It’s a lesson I learned deeply from the bottom of the dark cult.’

He recalled the past.

The dark cult.

Before formally teaching martial arts, the first training was to learn not to close one’s eyes.

A martial artist, ultimately, is human.

Dying from a blind strike is the same, so the instructor, who was like a demon, said not to close one’s eyes in any situation.

In a situation of give and take, a single blink could cost a life.

Just as there is a sequence to breathing when circulating inner energy, even blinking was done under strict calculation.

The dark cult’s methods were cruel.

Sprinkling sand in the eyes was basic, and there was also a method of stabbing a dagger right in front of the eyes.

And.

Sometimes accidents happened.

A trainee who had a dagger stabbed in his eye screamed and fell to his knees, and blood dripped from his bowed head.

Yet, the other trainees did not turn their eyes away.

Blood and screams were a daily part of the world of the survival of the fittest, and they clenched their teeth and held still, knowing that a slight flinch could lead to an accident.

The Heavenly Demon was forged that way.

Lucas’s experiences in various battles?

He might have seen a lot of blood, but the blood Bai Zhongxue had seen overflowed into a sea.

*Clap.*

“...I surrender.”

Lucas surrendered.

He dropped his sword and declared he had no intention of fighting further.

The test was over.

But not only Lucas, but the other applicants watching thought he would be punished.

‘If I had known, I wouldn’t have used the sand.’

Lucas’s plan was different.

He intended to last for one minute by any means and use the result to pass the test.

But he surrendered.

He knew how ugly the result was.

Occasionally, those called warriors would never mention surrender, even if their heads were cut off.

In contrast.

Lucas was a realist.

Feeling that his plan had completely failed and being overwhelmed by his opponent, he instinctively said, “I surrender.”

‘He must be disappointed in me. No, he probably didn’t even expect anything from me.’

He swallowed hard.

He waited for punishment.

Roman might be angry at him.

Or, he might declare his disqualification in front of everyone.

Lucas thought his greed had ruined the situation, but if he could go back in time, he would make the same judgment.

That was the kind of person he was.

In the blood-soaked frontline.

To survive in such a place, he had lived without knowing what shame was.

But.

“Next.”

Suddenly.

Lucas looked up at Roman in surprise.

Roman neither got angry nor asked why he used a foul.

The word “next.”

It meant tacit approval.

Your choice was not wrong, and there was no reason to blame you. He expressed it in one word.

A B-rank mercenary who had experienced everything.

Even Lucas.

Could not hide his surprised expression now.