Chapter 125: Chapter 125

Chapter 125 - The Train Rushing Towards the End (2)

Vargas, to be honest, couldn't help but be surprised by the potential shown by the boys before him.

He had held a somewhat high expectation for the boy named Elwin from the Cardenas family, with whom he had clashed earlier.

The middle name 'Van' indicated he was a direct descendant of the Cardenas family, which meant he would have inherited the sword family's secret techniques.

But he thought he had somewhat underestimated the boy named Rain from the Enlight family.

His stance looked decent, but his clear exhaustion plainly demonstrated a lack of physical ability, the source of combat power.

Moreover, without a middle name, he was likely an illegitimate child, and an illegitimate child from the fiercely aristocratic Enlight family... there was no way he would have received proper training.

This stemmed from Vargas being two generations older than Rain and Elwin.

Having voluntarily retired as a knight for too long, there was no way he would have heard the rumors from noble families.

Because of this, he hadn't known about Rain and Elwin either.

However, from the surprise attack Rain had just launched, Vargas could tell.

'Was I wrong in my judgment?'

He had thought Rain wouldn't be particularly outstanding, seeing him struggling against subordinates and clearly exhausted, but the recent strike was a different story.

It was a critical blow launched from a perfect blind spot. It was such a perfect attack that he was actually surprised how he managed to defend against it.

Moreover, from the heaviness of the attack he felt after clashing, he could tell.

"...He was hiding his strength."

Just before clashing with Rain, Vargas uttered that thought.

This was, purely, a momentary enhancement due to 『Moment of Decisive Battle[A]』, but Vargas had no way of knowing that.

The boy from the Enlight family, who had revealed his name as Rain, replied calmly, as if there was no emotional fluctuation whatsoever.

"Excellent. Those who step onto the battlefield must indeed act that way."

Vargas silently praised his caution. Inwardly, there was also admiration for his achieving a high level despite having certainly grown up in a harsh environment, but Vargas judged that praise unnecessary.

In any case, Vargas had the boy before him as an enemy, and now he had to face him, didn't he?

It was not good to talk much with someone you would soon kill or be killed by. That was a philosophy Vargas had learned from his own life.

Earlier, he had agonized over whether it was right to point his spear at these young boys, but... the situation had changed.

They had proven themselves. That they were knights and warriors, not mere boys.

He could neither retreat his spear here, nor would it be anything but an insult to them if he did. Vargas thought so.

The sight of the boy, clearly exhausted yet with unwavering eyes burning with fighting spirit, proved his thought correct.

The tingling in his armor, the glorious wound he had sustained during the ancient poisonous dragon subjugation, also confirmed this.

That wound always made its presence known with pain whenever he met a worthy opponent.

Yes. The two were clearly confronting each other as warrior to warrior, knight to knight.

And revealing their names before a fight carried that meaning.

A ritual for the victor to remember the name, even if one of them were to fall on this spot.

Because of this, no more extensive conversation was necessary between them.

The remaining story would simply be continued by the clashing of weapons.

In the noisy train, after a breathtaking standoff of less than 3 seconds...

The sound of spear and sword, two weapons, clashing echoed.

I replied to Vargas's praise and checked the remaining time for 『Moment of Decisive Battle[A]』.

[ Time Remaining: 42.51 ]

At first glance, one might think I was wasting the duration of 『Moment of Decisive Battle[A]』, but there was a reason for dragging out this standoff.

'...My hands are throbbing to death.'

Because I hadn't expected Vargas to counter my surprise attack in that manner, I couldn't properly deflect Vargas's counter.

All I could do was simply raise my sword and block it.

And perhaps that was the recoil. My hand wasn't moving properly. The fatigue from the prolonged battle so far must have also played a part.

Therefore, I took the time to rest my hand.

Anyway, the plan I had in mind wasn't one where a long confrontation was crucial.

At any rate, after that brief standoff, the first clash occurred.

I tried parrying it again, just to gauge his level, but... his strength was definitely no joke.

Even with 『Moment of Decisive Battle[A]』 activated, and even being consciously aware, I was still pushed back.

'As expected, pushing through with physical ability is impossible.'

Well, I had thought so. He was someone who could stand against Elwin, wasn't he? ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ novel·fire·net

And I had never achieved a win rate above 20% when clashing with Elwin.

Naturally, I had no intention of solving this with mere skill.

As if not wanting to give me a moment's rest after I recoiled from Vargas's spear strike, another attack flew in.

This time, I managed to nullify it by raising my sword and deflecting it.

Vargas expressed a small gasp of admiration.

From that position, I leaped forward to penetrate Vargas's inner guard, but...

Vargas's spear strike denied my penetration.

'This is troublesome.'

Yes, as you could see, I couldn't penetrate Vargas's guard at all. Even though my planned strategy required me to clash with Vargas at close range first.

'Distance, as expected.'

Acaite said. Every weapon has a 'distance' that maximizes its power.

And the spear had a wider range than the sword. It was natural for the battle to unfold this way because if I, with a sword, tried to penetrate his inner guard, it would become awkward for Vargas, who used a spear.

I murmured that and took a step back.

If he intended to unilaterally use the distance, then I would use it against him.

With that thought, I took 『Outlaw』 from my pocket and...

Immediately pulled the trigger and fired.

Vargas seemed somewhat surprised by my action, his pupils momentarily dilating, then he twisted his body sideways.

And as a result, only a small hole was pierced in the edge of his armor.

'Is this even possible?'

It was breathtaking, even if it was somewhat of an afterthought. He recognized the preparatory action, but for a person to react to a bullet? That was my thought.

But what could I do? It was a world where people moved as fast as bullets.

I then continued to pour bullets into Vargas without sparing them. The power of a Superior-grade 『Outlaw』 was so potent that, if continuously projected, it could even penetrate an old man who was like a walking fortress.

One of the next two shots inflicted minor damage to his side, and the other was blocked by Vargas's swinging spear.

Vargas made that sound, then rushed towards me.

He had created distance to maximize his own range, but now that was being used against him.

Therefore, it must have been his judgment that it would be more advantageous to force a close-quarters battle.

In fact, my physical condition wasn't very good. It was indeed the correct judgment.

However, that judgment was also precisely what I had hoped for the most.

Vargas was wearing armor.

And as you could tell from previous knights, armor was not a preferred type of equipment in this world.

'Because it's cumbersome, you see.'

Given the nature of people in this world, who generally possessed overwhelming physical abilities and defensive capabilities compared to reality, defensive gear that hindered movement was not highly favored.

Even without armor, there were many ways to secure defensive capabilities, such as the Knight Robe I was wearing. And functionality was maximized, with defense being a secondary priority.

Because of this, armor was relatively neglected.

However, if one were to list the advantages of armor, there was one: its defensive power.

It might sound obvious, but the armor in this world was on a completely different level in terms of defensive power compared to real-world armor. The raw materials and steel used were simply different.

But despite that, hindering movement was a fatal flaw for knights, which is why it wasn't favored.

Yet Vargas was wearing armor. What did that mean?

I had been pondering that thought ever since I first encountered Vargas.

Perhaps it was my 『Combat Sense』 that presented the clue to the solution in the form of a question.

I felt a distinct oddness. In , I had only ever encountered one type of enemy wearing armor.

When fighting Imperial Guard Knights, who appeared as regular enemies, not bosses.

But for someone with that level of physical ability to wear armor, even sacrificing a certain amount of combat effectiveness?

That could only mean one thing.

'Vargas has some kind of problem with his body's durability.'

That was the only reason to insist on high-defense armor, even with various penalties.

A state where even a relatively weak attack could be fatal.

Perhaps Vargas was in a significantly weakened state.

I was able to reach that conclusion.

Having reached that conclusion, I couldn't help but inwardly click my tongue. This power was weakened?

Well, perhaps only his durability was compromised... but anyway.

I didn't try to create more distance from the charging Vargas. Instead, I put the hand holding 『Outlaw』 into my pocket and rushed forward.

With my sword, the sword of my first master, 『Spellbinder』, raised high.

Just before he and I clashed, Vargas roared, as if instinctively sensing that this moment was the decisive one.

I had no strength left to roar back in response. Even after one breath, I was still gasping for air.

One step, then another step. Just moving forward was an ordeal.

Nevertheless, I pressed on. I wondered why I kept moving forward with this miserable body, but I knew now wasn't the time for such doubts.

Clashing sword and spear, I could feel it. Though we didn't talk, Vargas was clearly a knight.

So, how could I think otherwise? In this very moment.

After being thrown into this world, all the people I had fought to the death were utterly worthless.

That wasn't about their skill, but about them as human beings.

But Vargas was different. Among the opponents I had fought to the death since falling into the world of , he was the most proper.

To turn my attention to other matters now. That would be disrespectful to Vargas and an abandonment of duty. That's what I felt.

'...My head must be completely hardened or something.'

For me, who was thrown into this world, me who fell from the modern world, to be thinking such thoughts.

A wry laugh almost escaped me, but I swallowed it.

I simply, calmly, focused only on this decisive match.