Swoosh.
The black river, the small ferry, the purple lamp, and even the ferryman sitting on it.
It had been a long time. Opening his eyes inside this world of dreams and imagery.
Naturally, Encrid’s gaze landed on the ferryman.
Unlike before, the ferryman’s figure was clearer and more defined.
His skin, hidden under the robe, was cracked and dry like parched earth, and his cloudy eyes, covered with layers of film, stared at Encrid.
“Did you hope I’d disappear because you hadn’t seen me for a while? That will never happen. You, a mortal who dreams of immortality.”
Encrid leaned against the boat’s railing, looking directly at the ferryman he hadn’t seen in so long.
There was no chair today.
“You could have the throne just by killing one person, yet you don’t feel tempted?”
Was it because they hadn’t met in a while?
Or had the ferryman decided to change his approach?
Instead of his usual warnings to stop, he was trying to provoke Encrid’s inherent human desires.
“If you killed him, you could become the king. The damage to your Will? It can be healed. Your Will is strong enough that it wouldn’t matter even if it was damaged a little.”
Encrid instinctively knew the ferryman’s words were wrong. Will didn’t work that way.
If Encrid acted as the ferryman suggested, his undying Will, which he called Usque, might vanish.
Of course, it might not either. The truth is, no one knows what will happen in the future.
If a single mistake could erase a Will, then the Knight Corwin of Aspen should have lost his Will when he ran away, but that didn’t happen either.
Encrid had many thoughts about the ferryman’s words, but he didn’t argue or question him.
“A moment will come when a perfect ‘today’ is necessary.”
Perhaps this was the ferryman’s real point. His indifferent voice reached Encrid’s ears.
Or rather, this was the world of imagery, so maybe it was better to say it resonated directly in his mind?
In any case, it felt different from the time when the ferryman had warned of a coming curse.
He wasn’t saying it because something was happening now, but like the inevitability of the sun rising the next morning, he was simply stating what would come to pass.
Encrid raised his head, which had been half-bowed.
He felt like there had been a similar moment like this before, but he didn’t care and opened his mouth to speak.
“Not a Wave Sword, but a Wave-Blocking Sword, that’s what it should be called.”
The ferryman didn’t get caught off guard like before. He already knew this guy’s mind was wandering.
“A sword that blocks waves instead of a sword that surges like waves?”
He skillfully responded to Encrid’s words and added a comment about swordsmanship.
“Yes.”
“If you’re only going to block, wouldn’t it be better to carry a shield?”
Yes, the ferryman was right. That was the worry that had lingered in Encrid’s mind until just before he fell asleep last night.
When he tried to shape his swordsmanship, it ended up being a sword that blocks waves instead of one that surges like them. Wouldn’t it be better to use a shield for that?
No, that wasn’t quite it. Encrid already had a technique that wasn’t like that.
It was a technique called Snake Sword. It didn’t just deflect but countered and returned the force.
So, what if it wasn’t a shield but a sword technique that transmitted a reactive force?
If he polished and refined it like a mirror reflecting sunlight, it might become useful.
A mirror doesn’t block light, it reflects it.
Instead of standing firm against a surging wave, it advances while blocking and then strikes.
Something abstract began to take shape in his mind.
He felt like if he moved and practiced, it might become something.
“Aren’t you tired of it?”
The ferryman asked.
Encrid just stared at him blankly as if to ask, tired of what?
“Tired? Of what?”
“Never mind. Go.”
The ferryman’s tone subtly shifted, but that was the end of it.
He added one more sentence, but it was the same as always.
***
Encrid woke up from the dream, or the world of imagery, and stepped down from the bed.
He made some noise, and even though it was still dawn, he could hear a servant outside the door saying,
“You’re awake, sir.”
‘I feel light.’
His condition was good. In fact, he hadn’t felt bad recently, but today he felt particularly good.
Was it because of the dream, the results of his contemplation last night, or perhaps a bit of consideration from the ferryman?
Just before waking up, the ferryman had said that whatever kind of day it was, he would have to stay in it and couldn’t escape fate. Encrid ignored and forgot it cleanly.
If he took such words seriously, he wouldn’t be able to do what he needed to do.
“I’ll bring water for washing.”
The servant at the front spoke.
Encrid lightly moved his neck and wrists and shook his head.
“Later.”
With that, he immediately stepped outside. There was a training ground within the Royal Palace. Hadn’t it been a place only used by Knights residing in the palace or members of the Royal Family?
Krang had once called it an innovative madness and had it all remodeled.
Now, it was a place where anyone who wanted to sweat could gather.
If there were ever such a thing as clear blue or vivid darkness, he would have described the moment with those words.
It was a time shrouded in a bluish light that hinted at the coming dawn while surrounded by the crisp air that announced autumn’s arrival.
Swoosh!
Before the training ground came into view, his ears first told him that someone was already inside.
The shared training ground, which had once been the Royal Family’s, was a space encircled by a small stone wall.
There was some grass growing on either side, and the ground was soft dirt, having had the stones filtered out.
“Is it that there’s nothing else to do, or did Krona have too much free time? Does it make sense to build a training ground and leave it unused?”
Krang’s idle complaints from their travels to and from Aspen echoed in his mind.
Someone inside the training ground was heating up the cool autumn morning.
Encrid didn’t even place his hand on the stone wall as he pushed off the ground and leapt over it. The person swinging a heavy training wooden sword turned their head.
“Rearban.”
Encrid greeted first. It was an old acquaintance.
Rearban, drenched in sweat, looked at him, and Encrid spoke out of habit.
“Spar?”
A smile appeared on Rearban’s face.
“Gladly.”
Seeing someone who never stops moving forward was delightful. That’s how Encrid felt. Seeing Rearban now made him think that.
Could it have been the ferryman’s doing?
Was the ferryman’s words last night meant as advice or help? Why? Was it fun to watch him? That ferryman?
It didn’t seem likely. In the end, he had spoken something akin to a curse as always.
It wasn’t something to worry about right now.
Encrid picked up a wooden sword from a row laid out on the side.
Rearban, who had been swinging a stone club for training, put it down and switched to a wooden sword, swinging it a few times in the air.
“Up early?”
“I didn’t sleep. Came right after my shift.”
“I see.”
To be honest, he wasn’t curious.
Encrid gripped his sword and faced him. He would match his strength and speed to his opponent. Instead, he would focus on receiving and countering his opponent’s sword.
Rearban’s sword descended straight. He probably had at least one technique he was confident in.
This was it. A sword thrust down with minimal preparatory motion, reducing the overall path.
Of course, it posed no threat to Encrid.
Smack!
The moment the wooden swords clashed, Rearban frowned.
‘Huh?’
He had swung with force, but he wasn’t someone new to handling a sword.
But what was this?
The unexpected impact made his wrist tingle. It felt like he had struck some solid boulder with his sword.
‘No, more like a lump of iron.’
It felt even harder than that.
He’d trained cutting through steel a few times and knew its hardness well enough.
He swung again, and the wooden swords clashed with a ‘smack’ as they brushed past each other.
Rearban took a quick step to the side and swung to hit and retreat.
But,
Buzz.
His wrist tingled and trembled. It only brushed against the sword.
“It works.”
The Knight with blue eyes said from right in front of him. They were within striking distance. If this were real combat, a simple thrust would mean Rearban’s death.
The blue-eyed man, Encrid, spun the wooden sword in the air a few times instead of piercing Rearban’s throat.
“But this weapon won’t hold up.”
The wooden sword was twisted and splintered in the middle. At this rate, it would break without using any fancy technique.
“What is this?”
Rearban had never experienced such a Knightly technique before. Naturally, he found it astonishing.
Even Rem would have found it astonishing.
“Wave-Blocking Sword.”
It’s called a sword that blocks waves, but in reality, it’s a technique that absorbs the opponent’s power and returns it as a counter-impact.
Should it be called a step above the Snake Sword?
The Snake Sword didn’t use Will, but this one used the undying Will as a weapon to fight.
However, even if Ragna tried to mimic it, it wasn’t a technique he would use.
It was too inefficient.
It wasted Will as if it were being squandered, wrapping the entire body to repel attacks.
The structure of the technique was exceedingly simple. What happens when you strike a solid rock with a sword?
If the blade isn’t damaged, your wrist would be the first to break.
Stabilize your entire body and swing with strength. What if the opponent overwhelmed you with speed? In that case, you wouldn’t be able to use this technique.
But that didn’t mean it was the wrong path.
It suited Encrid remarkably well.
Moreover, it was only a start. There was a vague potential for further development.
After swinging the wooden sword a few more times in the air, Encrid threw it aside and began practicing the Isolation Technique.
“Keep training.”
Rearban had weak wrists, so he was easily countered, but what about Rem or Ragna?
Even Audin wouldn’t be easily countered. Well, regardless, it was incredibly interesting.
To ponder a technique all night and see it manifest the next day was a first-time experience for Encrid.
Was it that his body moved exactly as he intended?
Each moment was so enjoyable he felt as if he could die of joy.
Training was more exhilarating than ever before.
Encrid had always found swinging his sword every day to be enjoyable.
But did that mean Encrid never experienced pain? Even without despair and frustration, there were always moments of doubt.
But now, there was no room for doubt, and a smile wouldn’t leave his face.
Rearban, watching right beside him, couldn’t help but have his pupils tremble intensely.
‘Do you have to be mad?’
That thought arose naturally. The man had swung his sword a few times and left his opponent’s wrist in shambles. Then, he went and grabbed a stone from the corner of the training ground, carrying it around and repeatedly standing and sitting.
And while doing so, he was smiling. His face was full of a grin as if he couldn’t be happier.
Encrid had never been normal, but seeing him now, grinning like a fool, made him look like a complete lunatic.
Yet, watching him, Rearban couldn’t help but feel his own determination surging.
If it weren’t, he wouldn’t be training like this right after his shift.
He wasn’t anything special.
He hadn’t been lazy and had been diligent in training and personal conditioning every day. He just hadn’t been crazy about it.
He drank a glass of alcohol after work and rested when he could.
Rearban felt the difference here.
Not in talent or opportunity.
What he felt was the difference between those who do and those who don’t.
Which meant that the man in front of him must have spent every day, every moment, like this.
Slap!
If determination was lacking.
Rearban slapped himself hard on both cheeks.
“If that’s what’s needed, then I’ll just add more resolve!”
Encrid looked at him after he shouted aloud.
“Yes. Training.”
Rearban responded.
If Rem were here, he’d have said, “Another one’s been ruined.”
Encrid spent time from dawn until morning with Rearban, and after that, he showed the Wave-Blocking Sword to Rem as well.
“Not bad.”
For once, Rem started with praise.
Even he found it surprisingly tricky.
Just clashing swords made his wrist throb.
‘What’s the principle?’
After some thought, Rem concluded that it was a technique that wasted Will more than necessary.
It exploded the Will forcefully to twist the opponent’s wrist angle.
It used three elements: technique, timing, and strength.
Wouldn’t a vibrating sword be better for this?
Rem recalled hearing that Encrid had shattered the vibrating sword used by the Aspen Knight with the Trapping Sword.
‘No, that’s not it.’
Vibrations can be countered with a bit of skill, but Encrid’s current technique will evolve and adapt to the opponent.
Which means Encrid’s is more dangerous.
‘So, should I fight without clashing weapons? Is that even possible?Should I summon a cloud wolf from afar with sorcery?’
If someone kept using cloud wolves against him, he’d curse at them, run straight at the caster, and beat them up.
He’d ignore the wolf’s attack and target the caster.
Encrid would probably do the same.
Taking it all into consideration, the only thing Rem could say was that it wasn’t bad.
“You show no hesitation in advancing, brother.”
Audin also chipped in.
There wasn’t really anything else to do now. After attending the banquet, they would return.
The palace banquet would undoubtedly be grand, but they weren’t really interested. Krais would have liked it, though.
If Encrid were into such things, he would have spent his time serving day and night as the escort Knight for the noble ladies who kept offering to stick by his side.
Since he wasn’t, he was here now.
Before the evening, a servant came and delivered clothes tailored for each of them.
Audin pondered for a while before dressing up.
They were all wearing formal attire: Encrid wore a purple velvet vest, Audin wore a light blue jacket that only went down to his waist, and Rem wore a gray vest.
Formal suits tend to all look the same.
But seeing them dressed up, they did look good.
Even after the servants spent hours fixing their hair and appearance, neither of them showed any signs of irritation, which Encrid found more surprising than anything else.
It was just before the three of them stepped into the palace’s banquet hall that evening.
“Do we really announce it like this?”
The attendant standing before the three of them bit his lip and asked his superior, then, with a determined look, shouted out.
“The Mad Knights have arrived!”
The noisy murmurs of the people filling the banquet hall came to a sudden halt as they turned their gazes.
Dozens, hundreds of eyes focused on the three who had entered.
Thanks for the Chapter Bro!!! :DD
Thanks for the Chapter.
Is it updated regularly? Also what is release schedule
Creo que he leído el manhwa, talvez lo esté confundiendo.. 🤔