How to Live as a Wandering Knight

Karamaf drew his weapon, a drab, dark-colored longsword without any decoration. It seemed too plain for a knight of Karamaf’s stature.

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━𝐃𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧’𝐭 𝐭𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞?”

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━𝐈𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐟 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦, 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐩𝐚𝐲 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐬?

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━. . .𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐤𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭? 𝐒𝐮𝐫𝐞, 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐲 𝐢𝐭𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐚 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐩𝐨𝐧.”

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Ordinary swordsmanship didn’t mean instant death for someone unfamiliar with the technique.

Swordsmanship is ultimately about how one wields the sword in combat. It’s about how to stab, slash, and parry. It’s not about suddenly unleashing an unthinkable move. A master of one technique could somewhat counter an unfamiliar one.

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However, the technique’s vision was different.

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If you don’t know them, you’re at a disadvantage!

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They’re skills that defy conventional wisdom, leaving first-timers vulnerable. Knowing even one or two of these could mean the difference between life and death in a split second.

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━𝐄𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐦𝐲 𝐬𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞, 𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐤𝐞. 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲’𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩. 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐤𝐞𝐲 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞.”

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Fitting for an assassin, Kaegal’s swordsmanship specialized in ending the fight with a first strike. This was fortunate for Johan.

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‘𝘌𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦.’

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One step further.

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Karamaf raised his longsword, immediately creating an overwhelming pressure. It seemed ready to respond instantly in any direction.

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━𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐨𝐫? 𝐀𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐨𝐫, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐝. 𝐍𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞, 𝐚 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥-𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞.”

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━𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐟 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐧’𝐭 𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦?

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━𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞’𝐬 𝐧𝐨 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐬 𝐮𝐧𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞. 𝐍𝐨 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞. 𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐢𝐭! 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲’𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐨𝐟𝐟.”

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‘𝘏𝘮𝘮. 𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯.’

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Contrary to Kaegal’s words, that’s exactly what he was doing.

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Karamaf’s plate armor felt like a fortress. The only seemingly vulnerable spots were the helmet’s slit and the neck, but Karamaf, being no fool, would defend these well.

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𝐂𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐜𝐡━

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Johan gripped the longsword tightly, feeling it scream in his grasp.

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‘𝘌𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘣𝘢𝘵.’

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One step further.

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Johan completed his calculation and his step.

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It was time to strike.

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A technique called <𝐍𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐬’𝐬 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐞> from the guild unfolded beneath Johan’s feet. It was a unique gait that seemed to glide over the ground.

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Karamaf’s eyes widened at the sight of a technique usually used by assassins, wondering how a knight’s son could use it.

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But that was all. Karamaf was too experienced to be surprised by this. He immediately prepared to counter Johan as he closed the distance, ready to strike at any moment.

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Then, Johan vanished. He accelerated again in an explosive movement that genuinely shocked Karamaf.

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‘𝘐 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥!’

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It’s said that a first-class swordsman senses their defeat before it happens. The trained mind and senses make the judgment before the blade even touches the body. That’s what Karamaf was experiencing now.

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For him to lose track of his opponent in a duel between swordsmen was unbelievable.

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‘𝘞𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵. . .!’

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Though defeated in the bout, Karamaf did not panic. This wasn’t a duel under equal conditions. It was a fight where lives were at stake.

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From the beginning, Johan couldn’t win against Karamaf, no matter how many times he probed his weaknesses.

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As long as this armor remains intact.

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Karamaf only needed one hit to win, but for Johan, a win was impossible without striking several times to penetrate vital spots. The fight was so uneven it could hardly be called a fight. Karamaf never thought he would lose.

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‘𝘐 𝘢𝘥𝘮𝘪𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳. 𝘚𝘰, 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰? 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘪𝘵, 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵. 𝘕𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘵, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘶𝘯 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺.’

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Karamaf guarded his neck and face, waiting for Johan’s attack. It didn’t matter where Johan struck. The moment he did, his feet would be stopped, and Karamaf’s counterattack would begin.

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𝐒𝐬𝐬𝐬𝐡𝐤!

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There was a heavy sound of air being sliced. Johan swung his sword with tremendous force, aiming for the side. He was attempting a horizontal slash. Karamaf scoffed at Johan.

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Trying to cut plate armor with a longsword. Such a foolish act, not even a fool would attempt. His lack of proper knightly training was his downfall here. Once his meaningless sword strike ended, his neck would be severed.

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‘𝘍𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭.’

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Then there was a sound.

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It was the sound of Karamaf’s armor being ripped apart.