Chapter 138 – People Of Roman Dmitry (2)

The six people representing Roman had their own fame.

Chris and Kevin became famous in the northeast area. Chris was called the genius swordsman in Dmitry before even entering the battlefield and showed great performance along with Kevin in the battle against Barco.

They were called the Flash and the Ghost of Cairo. There were many people who saw them in action, so they wanted to avoid fighting them.

Volcan and Pooky overwhelmed people with their origin and appearance. The fact that they were war mercenaries made their presence unfavorable, and their physical look with massive bodies made the others fearful.

Despite the fact that they had lower names than the first two mentioned, those who faced them in real life would avoid looking at them.

And then…

McBurney and Henderson.

Both of them were shabby.

McBurney was once a good fighter, but now he only had one arm. He was just a one-armed swordsman and nothing more.

They didn’t know what back story McBurney had, but it didn’t matter anymore, considering that the one-armed man was easier to deal with.

And Henderson….

To put it simply, he was the weakest. And the basis of that judgment was a rumor.

“Henderson is coming on behalf of Roman? Henderson of Lawrence? No way! From what I know, Henderson is just a normal farmer who never touched the sword. I did hear rumors of him following Roman Dmitry, but a farmer is going to compete in a swordsmanship tournament?”

From commoners to farmers, people’s eyes turned to him. Even with progress, he was someone who fell behind all the names of Roman’s men.

Just like Henderson, Kevin wasn’t of great origin, but he at least showed his power so no one doubted him.

But Henderson was different from Kevin. A lot of people knew that during the time he was a farmer, Henderson was a coward. And on the first test, Henderson peed in fear. So ever since that time, Henderson was known to be the weakest one.

Was that why?

In this tournament, the men in Henderson’s group were happy?

“Yes!”

“This is nice!”

“Heaven is helping me!”

They were sure that this man was the weakest and that the winner would be in this group.

And the knight who was Henderson’s first opponent had the same thought.

“Group 5. Round 1. Henderson and Taylor.”

Henderson and Taylor—the people focused there. Just looking at the stage, people were convinced that Taylor would win.

‘A knight right from the start.’

‘So done.’

‘He cannot beat Taylor.’

Taylor—a wandering knight from Lawrence. He, who once lived in Lawrence, recognized Henderson right away.

“Long time no see.”

“… Mr Taylor?”

“The last time we met was when you had a busy farming season, and I am indebted to you. At that time, you didn’t seem like the type of person to touch a sword. Now, you are holding one right in front of me. You really don’t know life. No matter how many times you wander around the world, humans will always give us new shocks.”

Taylor smiled at their past relationship. Taylor knew Henderson was a good person, so he spoke in a low voice so that no one could hear.

“Henderson. I will give you a chance to give up on the tournament, considering our past relationship. As you know, I have reached a special realization and am now a 2-star swordsman. It means that you cannot deal with me, and I intend to prove myself through this tournament. In order to do that, I will have to show an overwhelming force, and I cannot take you on in a way that will hurt you. There is no reason to hurt you for this.”

They were not hasty words.

1 year ago and today.

There was a limit to time. And no matter how far he progressed, Taylor knew that Henderson would never be able to even touch his toes.

Everyone in this place.

Everyone looked down on Henderson. Henderson was the weakest person in here, and everyone wanted to climb up by defeating him.

“I understand what you mean.”

Grip.

He picked up the sword and looked at Taylor with a nice smile.

“I know how you remember me. So do your best. If you show even a little mercy on me, I will seize the chance and bring you down.”

He had sharp eyes that were different from the past.

Taylor showed a surprised expression and raised the sword.

“I hope you do not regret it.”

At that moment…

Swish!

“Start!’

The signal was given.

The confrontation of a commoner and an aura swordsman.

The scene that the people had imagined.

The thought of an aura swordsman pushing the opponent with brute force happened but in a different way.

Tak!

The one leading was Henderson. Henderson slammed his feet to the ground to attack Taylor, who was still hesitating.

Kang!

Kakang!

The swords collided.

Taylor looked a bit shocked at the power Henderson displayed in the follow-up attack.

Like cogs perfectly meshing, Henderson’s combo attack was perfect.

No matter how Taylor managed to block his opponent’s attack, Henderson would strike again immediately, leaving Taylor gasping for air.

‘What is this?’

This was an unexpected attack from Henderson. It was the perfect display of movement.

Since he was a farmer, he thought that Henderson would make awkward movements, but there were no loopholes in his attacks.

‘The person I was a year back and the person I am now are different.’

Since passing the test, Henderson has been through hell each day. There were so many talented people who passed Roman’s test, and from the start, they had skills better than his.

He was surprised to see Kevin. He had pure admiration for the boy who was only a foot shorter than him but was able to defeat his opponent with overwhelming force.

And he saw his own reality. To solve everything with a simple resolve, Henderson was far behind others.

‘After talking to Mr. Chris, I promised myself to become a person befitting of staying behind my Lord. Surely I am not gifted, and unlike other people who grow quickly and can create aura, it took me a lot more time to feel mana and manifest it. A being who always follows behind others—that is me. But that doesn’t change the fact that I am making progress.’

Henderson was like a turtle.

Slow but sure.

And on the right path.

Henderson was built with his own efforts.

Taylor would only remember his version from a year ago, but the blood and sweat of his body were melted into the sword he was wielding now.

Tak!

Kaka!

Asura Sword technique.

In a sword technique with 108 movements that could respond to every situation, Taylor couldn’t even get a single hit on his opponent. At first, he felt shocked, and as time went on, it felt disappointing.

To think Henderson was continuing to take the lead, he knew that sword technique was a systematic movement that couldn’t be ignored.

The people watching from a distance were shocked too. This wasn’t right. At the very least, Henderson had to show the level of what they considered weak.

Kuk!

Taylor countered.

Henderson didn’t step back as he expected this.

Swish!

The wind blew.

If he had been hit by the attack, the injury would have been insignificant, but Henderson didn’t move his gaze away from Taylor.

‘I will not fall for this level.’

Training in the past, his opponents were Kevin, Chris, and even Roman Dmitry. Dealing with such monsters, he had experienced something new each time, so Henderson’s reaction speed was abnormal.

Yet he wouldn’t deny that among those following Roman, he lacked the most. However, he had worked tirelessly to be able to represent Roman Dmitry here.

Tak!

When he saw the opening, he quickly moved.

He executed a false movement to break down Taylor’s form and attempted to attack at the opposite angle.

‘You are done.’

This couldn’t be stopped.

And Taylor fell.

He clenched his teeth in embarrassment.

“Damn it!”

Rumble!

Aura manifested.

In a situation beyond what he imagined, Taylor exerted power beyond common sense.

It was a last-minute decision. Taylor narrowly avoided it, his face flushed with unidentified emotions flowing through him.

‘I didn’t want to use mana.’

The opponent was a commoner and a being who had never felt mana. He wanted to defeat Henderson with pure sword technique, but when they fought, he realized it would be impossible.

It couldn’t be helped. He couldn’t just lose like this. He escaped the crisis by exploding his aura and striking his sword in front of him.

Rumble!

“Sorry, but it ends now.”

1-star aura.

The victory was decided.

Even if Henderson jumped ahead, he could not stop this.

But….

Rumble!

The same aura shone from Henderson’s sword.

And it wasn’t some huge power.

It felt weak, but he, who was a commoner, touched the state of aura?

It made no sense.

Looking at Taylor’s wide eyes, it was clear just how far and well Henderson had developed.

But the people who were gathered here didn’t know that Henderson’s development wasn’t that fast. Those who started to accept mana through the Asura Sword technique, starting with Volcan and Pooky, did it a lot earlier.

Yet Henderson’s aura was weak. Being well aware of this fact, he deliberately deflected the opponent’s aura and dodged the attack.

Pak!

Both arms moved.

Taylor was defenseless.

In the development that everyone didn’t expect, Henderson recalled what Chris told him yesterday,

“Henderson. When you came to me and said you’d give up, you were just a weak human. You were the kind of person who gave up without even trying, and if you had put everything down right then, your life wouldn’t have changed, not just as a swordsman. No matter what trials in life you face, you will be a loser. And in one month, you had a win rate equivalent to the top six. Unlike overwhelming warriors, you struggle every time, and when others accept defeat, you dream of getting one more victory. And this is the result of it.”

He smiled.

Chris looked at Henderson with warm eyes.

“You are qualified to represent our Lord and I will guarantee that.”

And now Henderson believed in himself. He didn’t consider himself superior, but he didn’t doubt his victory either.

Those times of working hard.

The person who used to be a commoner has changed a little.

People might still consider him a commoner, but Henderson experienced a world that others couldn’t imagine.

Whether Taylor struck back or avoided an attack, or even if he had to block, he had already experienced everything during his training.

Taylor raised the sword to block, but Henderson slammed him with his body to break the stance of his opponent.

And then…

Chak!

He held the sword to his neck.

This meant the match was over, and Taylor admitted to it with a pale face.

“… I lost.”

Group 5. Round 1.

The result was different from what everyone expected.

Henderson won.

People who had been watching with smiles and smirks were now at a loss for words.