Banquet (3)

The banquet immediately fell silent.

The music stopped playing, and people stood still, watching Shane and Marcus.

Shane, the strongest swordsman of the North, and Marcus,the strongest warrior of the West.

It was a spectacle that couldn't be bought even with money

to see these two fight.

"Shane will win anyway."

"No, Marcus is one step ahead.'

"You haven't seen Shane's swordsmanship."

"Want to bet?"

"Sure."

People murmured with interest, and the atmosphere gradually intensified.

"Shane, I've wanted to have a match with you, and now|have the chance."

"Same here, Marcus. I've been looking forward to this day."

"Will you still be able to speak like that even with my spear piercing your heart?"

"Your head will be off before that."

"Come at me, Shane."

"You come at me. Marcus. "

The two exchanged words but did not move an inch.They were thinking the same thing.

"Whoever moves first loses!'

Both Marcus and Shane knew well.

Tnat he moet iey c

they would face severe punishment.

re valiant knights who loved

knew when and where to holdt

This wasa banquet attended by high nobles.

execution.If they caused a ruckus here, they couldn't avoid severenent, and if a noble got hurt, they might even face the imperial law was not as lenient as one might think.

In that sense, Marcus drawing his spear was just for show.

He couldn't do nothing after Cobin, whom he was

guarding, got hit.d Shane wh

I their weapons here,

Drawing the spear was an action he had to take to

maintain his family's dignity.

1atior Combat, but they voula The theords like |l won't forgive novt time! and Consider vourself lucky' before parting ways decently.

Pamelia was also a sturdy Mage.

lfcfor eomne to inter

Pamelia, Selly's escort, took on the role of intervening.

"Stop, both of you. This is a sacred banguet. Drawing weapons in a place like this, have you lost your minds?"

She grasped Shane and Marcus's intentions.

one

"What if someone gets hurt? Please stop here."

"Understood."

At Pamelia's soulless recitation, Shane and Marcus had no choice but to lower their weapons.

Shane looked at Carl, and Marcus looked at Cobin.

Now it was Cobin's turn.

It meant they had done enough, so make a decision.

"Who said stop!"

itervene....Stop it, Sir Shane. It's a rare banquet, so I'll let Sir Marcus drawing his spear slide."

Cobin shouted angrily At Carl's words, Shane stepped back and sheathed his SWord.

Eventually, Carl stepped in calmly.

"I was the one who got hit! Sir Marcus! Pierce that

northerner with your spear right away! Cut off his head! If you don't, you're fired!"

From Cobin's perspective, he could feel wronged.

He was the one who got hit, but the adults around him were trying to sweep the situation under the rug in a cOordinated manner.

"Cobin, that's enough. I'll apologize for hitting you.If you want, I'Il let you hit me too."

"No? I don't want that? Getting hit by you isn't enough to make up for it!"

Cobin pointed at Ariel.

"That elf girl has to take a hit for me!"

People murmured at those words.

Cobin's behavior was too ugly.

"He wants to hit an elf girl..."

"Such a cute child..."

"There's no demon worse than him..."

Regardless, Cobin didn't back down.

"What about it, elf girl! This happened because of you, so take responsibility! If you think getting hit is unfair, we can have a duel! Yes, let's have a duel!'

Cobin shouted loudly.

'A duel would be better after all.'

That's what Cobin thought.

Hitting was just one strike, but with the pretext ofa duel, he could beat her to death.

'Hehe, itll be fun.According to rumors, Carl Castarck had courted an elf but

was rejected.

No, was it a marriage proposal?

Anyway, when such rumors spread among nobles, they are often false, but judging from Carl's actions now, this one

seemed to be true.

When Cobin tried to pour milk on Ariel's head, Carl rushed over and hit Cobin.

It was an impulsive action for Carl, who usually carried

himself as the heir of the North.

If the rumors were true, then the elf in question must be

Ariel.

If Cobin beat Ariel bloody through a duel, how devastated would Carl be to witness it?

He could punish the insolent elf and retaliate against the unlucky Carl.

Imagining Carl's distorted expression, Cobin gave a vile smile.

"If that elf girl accepts the duel, "|l let Carl Castarck hitting

me slide!"

Cobin declared.

"But if she doesn't accept the duel, I can't let it go either!"

With this, everyone's gaze turned to Ariel.

"...How cowardly of you, Cobin. Do you really want to see blood?"

Carl grovwled.

"To have a duel with that frail girl..

Then Shane approached and whispered to Carl.

"It will probably be alright. Didn't you see earlier?"

He was referring to when Ariel had arm wrestled that man.

Ariel had overwhelmed the burly man with pure strength.

To be nonest, even Carl Couldn't guarantee he could defeat Ariel in unarmed combat with that level of strength.

Cobin ha u iey eceveu some Sword trdining

from his family, but he was surely clumsy at best.

"It seems best to trust that elf girl for now, young master."

"Hmm... I see. Cobin is a pathetic fool after al.. But if Ariel is in danger, I won't just stand by."

"I will step in as well then."

Carl was convinced this way.

He decided to trust Ariel's strength that had overwhelmed the arm wrestling man earlier.

For the same reason, Selly also agreed.

"Ariel, be careful. If it becomes dangerous, Ill help you right Wede Cobinolate

her seat and walked towards Cobin.

e cake, stood up from

She had decided to accept Cobin's duel.

nerson he was.

She didn't know Cobin's exact intentions and wasn't

she had a rough grasp of what kind of

Donate now

Cobin was a delingquent who picked unnecessary fights.

Normally, she would ignore such a person, but this time

she didn't want to.

Because Cobin was too unreasonable.

Ariel also knew that earlier Cobin had deliberately tried to

bump into her shoulder.

When she avoided it, Cobin fell over by himself and made a

fool of himself, and he was now throwing a tantrum to vent

his frustration.

It was truly the behavior of a delinguent.

When Ariel faced him, Cobin gave a cruel smile.

"Hehe. I'll completely destroy that pretty face.'

Cobin didn't have a weapon, and neither did Ariel.

So the duel would be conducted unarmed.

Originally, there were no formalities for duels.

If nobles or knights fought and called it a duel, then it was a

duel.

"Shall we begin?"

Cobin said so and took a stance.

When he was at his family's estate, Cobin hated sword

training to death.

Because even a wooden sword was heavy to swing.

For that reason, the only thing Cobin diligently trained in

was martial arts.

Martial arts meant techniques to strike the opponent with

one's bare body!

Cobin's theory was that if you sincerely mastered martial

arts, you could kill the opponent with your bare hands.

And it was actually true. It was just far more efficient to use

a weapon.

'Finally, the time has come to use it...

In fact, Cobin had been secretly learning an ancient martial

art he discovered in his family's library.

The name of that ancient martial art was 'Dangrangkwon.'"

It was a martial art created by imitating the movements of a mantis, characterized by rapidly striking and attacking the opponent to prevent them from regaining their senses When Cobin lowered his body and raised his hand blades,

he really looked like a mantis pose.

"Pfft, what is that strange pose again?"

"Ugh, it's ugly!"

People mocked Cobin's pose, but he didn't care.

They'll be surprised soon!"'

Cobin had tested the Dangrangkwon on the servants several times, and as a result, he was convinced that his

Dangrangkwon had reached a considerable level.

Because the servants Cobin attacked were in great pain!

"Dangrang Strike!"

Cobin rushed at Ariel, swinging his claw-like hands sharply.

He was aiming for Ariel's neck.

The servants who were struck in the neck by the Dangrang Strike had trouble breathing for a moment and suffered.

'So at least its power has been proven!'

Pak!

Cobin's Dangrang Strike lashed out at Ariel.

And soon a scream erupted.

"Arghhhh!"

It was Cobin's scream.

"What is that? He broke his own hand."

"Tsk tsk, I knew it from when he made those strange movements."

"How pathetic, against a girl.

"No, couldn't he just throwa punch?"

People murmured again.

Because the duel ended too insipidly.

Cobin attacked Ariel with a strange movement, and his own hand bent in the opposite direction.

"Argh, my hand! My precious hand!!"

Cobin drooled and howled, while Ariel just stood there blankly.

"Ma, Marcus! Help me! This damn elf girl broke my hand!"

At Cobin's cry, Marcus sighed.

Marcus' face showed he wanted to hit Cobin.

"I kept telling him not to do that weird Dangrangkwon or whatever.."

"This was a duel requested by my lord. I cannot intervene."

Marcus spoke firmly, and the duel ended like that.

"Well, it's over."

"How insipid."

"As expected of Cobin."

People glared at Cobin and turned away.

The music performance resumed, and Ariel also turned to

finish her chocolate cake.

"Ah, it's not over yet!"

Then Cobin suddenly got up and charged at Ariel again.

No matter the duel, or rather, because it was a duel,charging at an opponent who had turned their back was a dishonorable act.

But Cobin originally had no honor, and now he didn't even have the sanity left to care about such things.

He just seemed to have a strong will to attack Ariel by any

means.

Even his method of attack was vile.

As Ariel turned around sensing Cobin's movements, Cobin tried to poke her eyes with his fingers.

"Ariel!"

Selly cried out urgently, and Carl hurriedly stomped the ground, but Cobin's fingers had already reached right in front of Ariel's face.

"Hehe, I'l blind you!"

Just as Cobin's fingers were about to poke Ariel's eyes,Ariel waved her hand.

As if swatting away an insect, lightly.