How a Second Life Knight Lives

34. The Inspector Competes.

Glancing around, I noticed that there were several knights besides this sturdy one who had business with me.

They are all kind and innocent knights who revere the Countess.

And they are all grumpy men who want to beat me up.

Their justification was plausible.

It was unfair for an inspector of questionable skill to judge the abilities of the knights, so there was nothing I could say.

If I tried to suppress this with authority, I would only end up looking like a fool.

But it wouldn’t be a wise choice to knock them all down here either.

I have to work with these people.

So, I need to show an overwhelming difference.

I have to persuade them with my skills and make them obey my words.

And if it’s about physical persuasion, I have some expertise now.

“Who are you, sir?”

The knight, who was solid in his lower rank, briefly showed an angry expression on his face but managed to control his expression and spoke gruffly.

“Arlay Burke. I am the standard-bearer of the knights.”

If he is the standard-bearer of the knights, he must be superior to others in terms of skill and character. His reputation must be good as well.

That’s why he stepped up as the first batter.

“Sir Burke. Let’s see if you have the skills to back up those words. Come in.”

I gestured towards him.

*

What an insolent man!

Burke decided not to care if his anger showed on his face.

Even though he was an inspector and personally selected and appointed by the Countess, he thought he would give him a chance, but he turned out to be more infuriating than expected.

Seeing him extend his hand forward and wiggle his fingers upward made an uncontrollable anger rise within him.

Burke took a deep breath and gripped his favorite longsword with both hands.

“Pick up your weapon.”

“Is a weapon really necessary?”

“What do you take me for? I am not someone who would attack an unarmed opponent.”

“Was this a duel? This is just a guided sparring session, Sir Burke. Don’t worry and attack.”

“If you are so confident, I won’t hold back.”

Burke swung his longsword wide and advanced forward.

It was an honest attack.

It was a swift and powerful strike.

Even a glancing blow would cause severe injury,

and a direct hit would surely be fatal.

William touched the trajectory of the longsword.

In an instant, William closed the gap between them.

Just by moving slightly forward, he had escaped the most powerful attack range.

Then he reached out his left hand and grabbed the hilt of the longsword.

Three hands were entangled on the hilt of the longsword.

It won’t move!

A sense of bewilderment overwhelmed Burke.

Burke couldn’t move the longsword that William had grabbed.

It didn’t budge, as if it were fixed in midair.

And at the same time, William’s right hand grabbed Burke by the collar.

To be precise, he grabbed the upper part of the breastplate that protected his neck.

And then he threw him down.

The next moment, Burke, who felt he had been grabbed by William, found himself lying on his back, looking at the sky.

He might have fainted for a moment, as his comrades were swarming around him, trying to remove his breastplate.

“Wait, I’m fine. Move aside.”

Burke tried to get up, hiding his bewilderment. And at that moment, he felt an immense pain.

It was so painful that he couldn’t even scream.

“Your bones are fine, but your muscles are quite bruised. Still, if you eat well and rest for a few days, you’ll be fine, so don’t worry too much.”

It was a calm voice.

There was no sign of mockery or ridicule.

It was just the tone of someone who had sparred with him and was now telling him to take care of himself.

Burke suddenly thought that this young knight who had appeared out of nowhere wasn’t just chosen by the count because of their acquaintance.

Perhaps this person was more formidable than he had thought.

The other comrades who had been waiting were no match for him.

Was there anyone among his comrades who could toy with him like a child?

There wasn’t, was there?

“Sir Burke couldn’t even respond properly.”

“How on earth did you manage to get in and grab the longsword in the middle of the swing? Did you see it? Sir Burke isn’t someone who would let anyone approach so easily.”

“Fast. Too fast.”

The knights of the estate couldn’t hide their bewilderment.

It was a very simple technique.

Block or grab the opponent’s sword, then approach and grab the enemy and throw them.

Any knight could perform it.

The question was whether one could boldly use it in real combat, where they had to perform acrobatics on the thin line between life and death. The technique itself was known and could be done by anyone.

The problem was that in the moment when two people clashed and the outcome was decided in an instant,

most people missed William’s movements.

At some point, the handle of the longsword was seized by William, and in an instant, Burke’s body spun around and was thrown to the ground.

Even though they were watching from the side, they couldn’t properly see how the duel progressed, fitting the saying that the hand is faster than the eye.

What this meant was simple.

If you face him up close, you will be defeated without even being able to use your hands.

William possessed skills far superior to what the knights had heard in rumors.

The rumor that he had taken down three knights in an instant was absolutely not an exaggeration.

However, the knights’ pride was at stake to just retreat.

Even if their skills were lacking, they had to fight when it was time to fight.

How well you lose was also an important point.

Losing too one-sidedly like now, to the point of being laughable, was absolutely unacceptable.

So the most promising among them stepped forward.

“I’m Kelly Johnson.”

If the opponent was strong in close combat, then attacking from a distance would suffice.

Johnson stepped forward with a short poleaxe.

Though it was short, it was still a poleaxe, almost as long as an adult man.

“My specialty is the spear, so I ask for your understanding.”

*

Though he asked for understanding, the spear came out before he could even respond.

The sharp spearhead aimed at weak points and stabbed continuously.

It was as if it was stabbing two or three places at the same time.

I moved backward, dodging the spearhead’s movements.

If you recklessly approached like before, you could be cut by the beak attached to the pulling spear, or hit by the axe or spear shaft.

It was a weapon that was difficult to approach.

However, an axe spear is still a spear.

It is advantageous for stabbing distant enemies, but it struggles to attack nearby enemies.

The moment I deflected the spearhead thrust towards me, the knights’ restraint was as good as over.

The moment I deflected the spearhead outward and its direction momentarily shifted away from me, I slid forward and grabbed my opponent.

Kelly, who claimed to be skilled with the spear, retreated and tried to hit me with the spear shaft as I moved.

But I was faster.

I struck between the two hands holding the spear shaft.

Then, taking advantage of the momentum, I closed in and struck his temple with my elbow.

The spear broke into two pieces and fell to the ground.

Kelly, who had lost consciousness in my arms, slumped down.

I laid Kelly next to the broken spear.

The moment Kelly’s spear broke and he lay unconscious on the ground, everyone agreed.

It would be difficult for the knights here to lose with dignity.

If they all rushed at once, it might be different, but that wasn’t the case.

Like a child seeking their parents when anxious, the knights’ gazes suddenly turned to Master Johan.

“Hmm. You’re fast. And strong. But relying too much on strength and ignoring the basics? That’s not very efficient. But your response to the axe spear was impressive.”

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“Well, Master Johan, I believe that being strong is a skill and an ability in itself.”

“I don’t know how strong you are, but human strength has its limits. And those limits always fall short of our expectations. No matter how strong a human is, can they surpass an ogre? Or a giant? Even the orcs living in the northern wilderness are stronger than humans. That’s why humans must pursue maximum efficiency within their limits. And that’s why humans have thrived on this continent.”

“You make a valid point, but.”

“But?”

“There are differences between individuals.”

And those differences can’t be caught up with just efficient movements.

If the rumors about you, Master Johan, are true, then even an orc wouldn’t be a match for you, and maybe not even an ogre.

There are too many outliers to generalize all humans into one category.

“There are differences between individuals. That’s true. But maximizing the efficiency of movements to defeat stronger opponents. That’s my goal.”

I didn’t respond.

I wanted to see his skills rather than hear his martial philosophy.

So far, all my opponents had been knights of considerable skill.

At least in the city of Kalmar and its surroundings, there was no one stronger, no one who could be considered the regional champion.

I stood before him.

“So, you still don’t intend to use a weapon?”

“Well, I don’t think I can afford to. If I wield a weapon against Master Johan, someone might get seriously hurt.”

“Is that so? I was thinking the same.”

Master Johan unfastened the scabbard from his waist and handed it to the knight beside him.

Then, he approached me comfortably with his empty body.

As if predicting that we would fight like this, neither of us wore anything like armor.

“Then let’s try it with our bodies.”

A fist flew towards me.

I planted my feet firmly on the ground and swung my fists.

100 km/h.

In hindsight, it’s not that fast.

The speed of an arrow is two to three times faster than that of a fist.

But the fist comes flying right in front of my nose.

I lightly stepped aside to avoid the fist.

Even though the fists were flying right in front of my nose, I felt no fear or difficulty.

I had the leisure to see and avoid them.

It was the same for Master Johan.

Master Johan also easily avoided the punches I threw.

We stopped simultaneously.

“As expected, you see everything.”

“It seems Master Johan sees everything too.”

We grasp each other’s movements and move accordingly.

It seems easy, but it’s not.

Considering that the knights of the territory, who have been training for over ten years, miss my movements and allow attacks in vain, this is not something that can be easily mastered.

However, even without special training, I was able to do this after obtaining the status window.

It must be the effect of [Stamina: MAX].

“Then from now on, I’ll make it so that seeing is meaningless.”

Master Johan’s momentum changed.