Battle Race in the Fantasy World

Battle Race in the Fantasy World – 47

EP.47 God Whispered, “Do Some Exercise”

– Click-clack, click-clack. –

Kyle thought he would be sparring with Priscilla right away, but that wasn’t the case.

They said sparring wasn’t allowed here and offered to guide them to a nearby open field.

It was absurd, but there was no valid argument against it.

It seemed the incident of half-destroying the academy had reached the church in full detail.

As a result, he was loaded into a carriage and taken somewhere.

‘It’s not like I’m a gladiator being dragged to the Colosseum.’

He was confident he could go easy. He could avoid breaking anything.

But they got scared and put him in a carriage. The church was definitely full of cowards!

When strong individuals fight, it’s natural for things to get a bit wrecked!!

“…”

Feeling a gaze, Kyle slowly turned his head.

There sat Priscilla, who had just asked him for a spar.

“…”

“…”

It was awkward. Damn it, the awkwardness was unbearable.

If they were going to provide two carriages, shouldn’t they have separated the fighters?

What were they thinking, putting the Saintess and the Cardinal in one carriage and him with Priscilla in the other?

How was he supposed to overcome this uncomfortable situation?

“I apologize, Brother Kyle.”

Startled by the sudden apology, Kyle flinched.

‘What was this? Did she just use some kind of mind-reading technique?’

“I apologize again for the rudeness of asking a guest to spar.”

“It’s alright, Commander. But, if you were in the church, why didn’t you ask my brother or sister when they were here…?”

“Of course, I tried to get an opportunity. But when the eldest son of the Jonathan barony was at the academy, I was in charge of the knight order at a church branch. And when your eldest sister was here, I had just become the commander and was too busy with the transition and other matters.”

So, it seemed she had only managed to adapt to life at the church headquarters and her role as commander just in time for Kyle’s arrival.

Timing could be quite peculiar, he thought to himself.

Once again, silence enveloped the two.

If it were a long journey, he could have pretended to sleep, but they were almost at their destination.

“You’re not asking why?”

He was about to lean against the window and pretend to enjoy the scenery.

Suddenly, Priscilla’s question made Kyle turn his head.

“What do you mean?”

“As a guest of the church, and more importantly, a guest of the Saintess, I am committing a great discourtesy.”

Honestly, he was curious. The position of a holy knight commander was extremely high.

For someone in such a position to suddenly ask for a sparring match was unusual.

She didn’t seem as unhinged as Yurika, so what was her reason?

“I am curious.”

“But…”

“But I won’t ask. If the Commander has a reason for this, it must be significant. If it’s a reason you can share, you’ll tell me. If not…”

Kyle trailed off for a moment and shrugged his shoulders.

It was clear he meant, “If not, then it can’t be helped.”

“…My grandfather once fought someone from Jonathan and lost.”

“Pardon?”

Being one of the Empire’s top ten strongest, she must have a competitive spirit, even if not as much as Yurika.

Kyle thought that was why she was asking for a spar.

However, what Priscilla said next was completely unexpected.

“My grandfather was incredibly strong. He was an excellent swordsman. From a very young age, I dreamed of becoming a swordsman like him. I wanted to be as strong and as admirable as he was.”

“…”

“He participated in the battles between the Empire and the northern people and was defeated.”

‘Damn. So, what does this mean? Is she trying to avenge her defeated grandfather?’

‘No! Commander? Didn’t the church teach you to forgive your enemies? Or to love them?’

‘Even if her respected grandfather was defeated by Jonathan, what did that have to do with him?’

It’s been almost 30 years since Jonathan joined the Empire!

“But my grandfather said he felt relieved even in defeat. He clearly lost, but his face didn’t look like that of a loser. As a child, I couldn’t accept it or understand it. And even now, that feeling remains. What kind of duel was it that made my grandfather smile like that? I’m curious, and I want to understand.”

“Uh… So the reason you’re doing this to me is…”

“I want to know. I want to understand. I want to realize why my grandfather felt that way. Because of that desire, I am committing this great discourtesy.”

She wanted to fight to gain something, to understand something. Priscilla was saying this.

Her words made Kyle feel something warm rising in his chest.

It wasn’t about revenge or retribution, it was a fight to realize something, to overcome a barrier.

If it was for that reason, if she was asking for this to understand something…

“I’m sorry, Brother. This discourtesy, someday…”

“Commander, I recently had a confrontation with the fifth princess.”

“The fifth princess? You mean Princess Yurika…?”

“Yes. She is also one of the Empire’s top ten strongest, just like you.”

Priscilla wondered why Kyle was suddenly bringing this up.

Soon, she understood exactly what he was trying to convey.

He had already faced one of the top ten strongest and came out unscathed.

So, he was telling her to feel reassured and to give her all in this spar.

If she truly felt she was being rude, she should apologize by giving her best effort.

“…I will do my utmost, Brother Kyle.”

“Of course, you should. I look forward to it.”

====

***

====

“Your Eminence, shouldn’t we stop this now…?”

After arriving at the wide, empty field, the Saintess asked anxiously.

It seemed like they had promised to take it lightly.

But looking at the expressions of the two facing each other, it didn’t seem light at all.

They were ready to clash seriously. Since they were not within the church grounds, they seemed prepared to fight without holding back.

“Hmm…”

Cardinal Paul also sighed, looking troubled.

Priscilla wasn’t one to take promises lightly, but seeing her now, she seemed deeply engrossed.

Though she was a member of the church, she was also a swordsman.

When the moment to fight came, she would erase everything from her mind and focus solely on the battle ahead.

In such a situation, trying to stop them might do more harm than good.

“We can only hope it ends safely.”

Priscilla wasn’t as obsessed with dueling as Yurika.

And Kyle, from what the Saintess had said, seemed different from the typical Jonathan.

So perhaps they could feel a bit more at ease.

Cardinal Paul tried to reassure himself and the Saintess.

“It looks like they are about to start.”

As soon as Cardinal Paul finished speaking, a blue light emanated from Priscilla’s sword.

Considering that most swordsmen used semi-transparent sword energy,

it was clear why her alias was ‘Blue Moon’.

‘But, come to think of it, did Brother Kyle even arm himself?’

With a sense of disbelief, Cardinal Paul turned his head.

And indeed, seeing Kyle without any weapon, Cardinal Paul sighed.

Even though he was from Jonathan, his opponent was one of the Empire’s top ten strongest.

Moreover, she was using mana to unleash sword energy.

If he got hit by that energy, even armor would be sliced through like butter.

A single mistake could cost him his life!

He had heard that Kyle had shattered a sword with his bare hands at the academy.

But at that time, his opponent was just a student, not one of the Empire’s top ten strongest.

There was a stark difference. Moreover, no sword energy was used back then!

“No, Brother Kyle…!”

Cardinal Paul urgently spoke, but it was already too late.

Even knowing Kyle was unarmed, Priscilla charged forward.

She swung her sword down with all her might.

Was it so fast that it couldn’t be seen? No.

Did it involve some indescribable, intricate technique? Not that either.

On the surface, it was just a simple downward slash.

“Aaaah…!!”

But it was an extremely clean and sharp slash, without any unnecessary movements.

Just that one simple sword strike was enough to send chills down the spines of the onlookers.

This was the power of one of the Empire’s top ten strongest. The skill of the Empire’s finest warriors.

Priscilla’s sword was about to slice Kyle’s body in two.

His body would split apart, creating a gruesome sight.

That thought filled the minds of the Saintess and Cardinal Paul.

– Thump!! –

“…Huh?”

Until Kyle caught the sword with his bare hand.

“What a terrifying sword.”

It wasn’t an empty compliment. It truly was a terrifying sword.

If he had reached out thoughtlessly as before, he would have become a left-handed person for life.

So instead of breaking the sword immediately, Kyle grabbed the blade.

‘So, this actually works.’

His brother and sister had practiced this so much that he had secretly tried it himself.

After failing dozens of times and succeeding once, he had vowed never to try it again and had forgotten about it.

But now, it worked on the first try, much to Kyle’s own surprise.

Of course, he couldn’t hold onto it for long.

The energy lingering on the sword, the sword energy, was extremely painful.

“Shall we continue?”

Kyle lightly pushed the sword away and asked, to which Priscilla nodded.

This time, she moved on to more difficult attacks, switching to more varied techniques.

At one point, she even used her killing intent freely, swinging her sword wildly for the first time in a long while.

“Oh, dear God…”

Meanwhile, Cardinal Paul clasped his hands together and sought divine intervention.

As the blue moonlight danced, Kyle shattered all that light with his bare hands.

An academy student was facing the sword of one of the Empire’s top ten strongest, the church’s finest warrior.

Could this truly be happening? How could that be a human?

Were they really creations of the same God, made on the same day?

“Wow…”

The Saintess watched Kyle in a daze.

Unlike the Cardinal beside her, she didn’t seek divine intervention.

She simply thought that Brother Kyle was incredibly impressive. That he was truly amazing.