novelBirth of the Dragon Sword (3)
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Chapter 88 - Birth of the Dragon Sword (3)
4
When the new sun came up, Arrieta left the capital with her brother to travel a long road. It had been a while, since she had done this. Moreover, there were over 200 escorts accompanying them on the road.
Arrieta let out a sigh inside the carriage.
"I wonder if our teacher will become infuriated at us."
Currently, Arrieta and Seigar was headed towards the Dukedom of Tarantos for a vacation.
Their mother, the Dragon Demon Queen, strongly insisted on them taking a break. It was decided that they would take half a year of rest from the work required by them as members of the royal family. Originally, the throne would have never consented to such a plan, but the Dragon Demon king worshippers had tried to kidnap both of them. Since they were in personal danger, the throne decided to allow it.
Of course, it was called a vacation on the surface. However, the real purpose of this break was for them to be retrained by Kairen. It wasn't just Seigar. Arrieta also felt the need to get stronger.
Seigar had a bitter smile on his face.
"Teacher will come to realize this wasn't your idea."
They were currently being escorted by 200 people, because the throne was worried the Dragon Demon king worshippers would try to kidnap them again. The throne put a stipulation that they couldn't refuse this escort, so Arrieta brought the several personal subordinates she under her command. Seigar brought a large portion of the men enlisted under his banner.
"I hope so. It isn't as if we can send everyone back after arriving there... Well, you can talk to him nicely about it, Seigar."
"What? You are going to push that task off to me?"
"I only brought 15 subordinates. Isn't the rest of the group under your command? If one of us has to be struck by teacher's severe reprimand, I still think you should be the one taking the brunt of it."
Arrieta was still in the progress of assembling her own unit that would be directly under her command. The Dragon Demon Queen and Seigar had gathered some useful people for her, but the number was still too low. Moreover....
"Moreover, you brought selected members from your unit, so they can learn from the Duke Tarantos. However, you are trying to obfuscate this fact... Do you think our teacher won't see through your plans? Do you think he'll just go along without making a note of it?"
"Mmm. Well... I guess I have no choice."
Seigar scratched his cheek.
It was as she surmised. Since Seigar was going for a prolonged stay, he was looking for an opportunity to ask for some tutelage from Kairen for his men. He would also ask a joint training session with the knights of Tarantos. He was always trying to find a way to increase the power of his troops. This was why he chose suitable members for this trip with that purpose in mind.
Arrieta spoke.
"Now that I think about it... He might still be there."
"Who do you mean?"
"I'm talking about sir Azell."
"Ah ah. He's probably there."
At the midway point of this trip, Seigar had sent a message to update their progress. He indirectly heard about what was going on at the dukedom.
"From what I heard, it seems our teacher is deeply immersed in sparring with Azell. It is to the point where he is ignoring all his other works.... Mmmm."
Arrieta spoke when she saw a perplexed expression on her brother's face.
"It seems you can't accept it."
"If I'm being honest, I can't."
"I think there is sufficient information going for him. From what I heard from our teacher, Azell made significant contributions to your rescue...."
"I heard about it, but I didn't witness it. Moreover, there's no other eyewitnesses except our teacher."
Kairen had said Azell had won a one-on-one battle with a Dragon. Even if he worshipped the ground walked on by his teacher, he was having a hard time taking his teacher at his word. If one of his subordinates that was with him saw it, then maybe....
"There is no way a human would be able to pull that off. Moreover, he is young..."
"There was a time when I thought similar thoughts as you."
Seigar raised his head at Arrieta's words. She spoke.
"However... I changed my opinion when I saw sir Azell."
"......."
"If he is still with our teacher, you'll be able to see his skills. It actually might be a good experience for you."
Arrieta smiled as she looked at her conflicted brother.
She was happy at the thought of seeing Azell again. It had been over half a year, since she had seen him. How much had he changed?
When Arrieta and Segiar arrived, they wanted to immediately meet with Kairen to extend their greetings. However, the house steward Havanz told them Kairen was absent at the moment. He wanted them to wait. When they asked the reason behind it, Havanz awkwardly gave them an answer.
"That's... Sir Azell is our guest, and the duke went out to spar with him. They still haven't returned. I told the duke to come back early since the two of you were arriving today...."
At those words, Arrieta and Seigar asked Havanz to assign lodging to their party. Then they were lead by a servant to the back mountain where Kairen and Azell was present. They found Kairen and Azell at a frozen lake....
"Are they atop the water?"
Seigar's eyes turned round.
Azell and Kairen was running atop the lake as they exchanged sword blows. It was winter, but they weren't running a frozen lake. The ice had been broken, and the two of them were fighting atop the rolling waters.
The surprising part was the fact that the fight continued to be fought atop from the water from the time they discovered the two from afar to the time they got close.
Arrieta was astonished.
"That's incredible. They aren't using repulsive power to impact against the water. They are actually walking on water."
"What?"
Seigar became surprised at her words, and he looked at the feet of the two men.
If it was running and fighting atop a body of water, it was something Seigar could do. However, his method was done through pressurizing and detonating pockets of air with his Dragon Demon Qi. It wasn't truly walking on top of water.
When he looked closely at Azell and Kairen, they were stepping on water as if it was solid ground.
At times, they came to a stop, and they rocked back and forth with the surface of the water. They walked, skidded and ran across the water as they clashed. The act looked so natural that it looked unreal.
Chwahhhhhh!
The two were running in a circle as they clashed, and it sent up a spray of water. At the same time, Kairen's body dipped below the surface of the water.
On the other side, Azell just slid back about two steps. Kairen realized what had happened, so he surged up to the surface of the water. Then they started up exchanging sword blows again.
Kah-ahng!
The rebound caused Kairen's body to descend below the surface of the water. The water that was displaced for their clash returned to its original location, and his body was pushed under water.
Azell had a carefree attitude as he rained down sword strikes from above.
"Poo-uhk! You really are going to go there!"
Kairen had swallowed some water, so he coughed. Azell responded to him.
"You ambushed me earlier before when the match hadn't started yet. I was dunked into the water. I don't think you have the right to say that...."
"That was that and this is... Poo-uhp! Uh-pooh!"
In the end, Kairen couldn't exit the water, so he was pushed under water. Azell let out a laugh as he thoroughly enjoyed what was going on. He retreated backwards. In the next moment, the surface of the water exploded, and a rough spray of water rose into the air.
Chwah-chwah-chwah-chwahh!
Kairen exited the water, and he looked like a drowned rat. One could see his teeth chattering.
"Shit! It is cold enough to make me gnash my teeth!"
"Of course. It's winter now."
If it was a normal person, one would have to be worried for that person's life. Kairen raised his eyes.
"Are you saying you want to avoid a match on a wet field?"
"It isn't anything like that. I'll spar you no matter where it is. However, we should end this here."
"What are you saying! We are far from done!"
"Guests have arrived. Wouldn't it be unbecoming to show such a disgraceful behavior in front of your students?"
Azell pointed towards the shore of the lake where Arrieta and Seigar was standing. Kairen furrowed his eyebrows.
"It's already that time?"
"I told you earlier that I was hungry, so we should head back and eat."
"I don't remember hearing that."
"Wow. You are getting more thick skinned as time passes."
Kairen snorted at Azell's idle remarks. He started walking towards the shore of the lake. It was as if he was walking on solid ground, but he was walking on water. As he walked, heat emanated from his body, and the water on his body evaporated.
Everything he did looked very natural. Kairen was learning techniques from Azell, and he was getting stronger each day.
When he arrived at the shore, he laughed as he looked at his two students.
"It's been awhile. I am glad you guys came."
5
"It hadn't even been a year since I last saw you...."
Arrieta had a mystified light in her eyes as she spoke to Azell.
"You are like a completely different person. How were you able to do such a feat?"
"I ate good meals, and I was able to get sufficient rest. Moreover, once you combine those factors with a great view, this is possible."
Azell grinned. Arietta had a sudden fit of laughter.
"Thank you for teaching me such an incredible secret. Anyways, it is good to see you again, sir Azell."
"I feel the same way, princess."
"Enora also spoke a lot about you."
"When did I do that princess?"
"When you heard Sir Azell was here, you agonized over whether you should send a letter or not?"
As expected of a maid to the royal family, Enora had been standing with impeccable posture. Her face turned red. Azell laughed..
"Wow. I can't believe Ms. Enora did that. It is an honor."
"You've grown more ill-natured during the time we haven't seen you."
"I think I was infected by the duke's personality. I wasn't usually like this...."
"Please come up with a more believable excuse."
Enora harrumphed as she turned her gaze away.
Maybe, it was because she was at an age where she was still growing, but she had grown a lot in the past 7 months. She looked to be a little bit taller, and there was a feeling of maturity around her. Still, she looked like a young girl to Azell.
Azell spoke to the man sitting next to Arrieta.
"It seems the life of being a personal knight to the princess suits you, sir Giles. You look more open now."
"Is that so? My current work is clearly better than what I did at the western border."
Giles had also changed a lot. His face hadn't changed, but he looked more stylish than before. Moreover, he had a dignified air around him. His clothes reflected the position of being the princess' personal knight. Currently, he was wearing a formal outfit. He gave off a completely impression now.
Azell asked a question.
"How's sir Boar doing?"
"He is actually doing quite well right now. I've received a lot of help from him."
Boar's attitude in how he treated others had changed drastically, and the opinion of him had improved. His family already had a lot of power, but his conduct went a long way in strengthening his family's power. Giles received a lot of benefit from his acquaintance with Boar. Of course, Giles had gone from a soldier dispatched at the border to being a royal knight. If it wasn't for Boar, Giles would have had a very hard time getting used to his current life.
Of course, it wasn't as if the help was one-sided. Giles had been taught Spirit Order techniques from Azell, and he had passed it on to Boar. Whenever they had time, the two of them met up to refine their techniques, and they trained to increase their internal energy. Giles had been a big help to Boar in those terms.
Azell spoke after hearing everyone's story.
"By the way, you guys brought 200 people? That is a lot of people."
"It couldn't be helped. The throne wouldn't have allowed us to come here if we didn't take a force of that size. Of course, Seigar jumped on this opportunity to bring his people."
Kairen was belatedly informed of the situation, so Seigar was getting an earful from Kairen right now. If everything was done as it should have been done, the escort would have returned to the capital after a brief stay. However, Segiar had insisted on bring his own people. Now the Dukedom of Tarantos had to be in charge of taking care of 200 people, who would be here for an extended stay.
Azell spoke.
"It seems the prince is really passionate about his work."
"He is greedy. Maybe when he retires from the seat of the Dragon Demon Prince, he'll try to aim for a post as a general."
"What about the princess?"
"I'll probably live a free and easy in my retirement. I don't want to go out into the battlefields. I don't want a tiresome life where I'll have to deal with people. I'm aiming to become the world's best slacker."
"It is quite an enviable goal."
"Isn't it?"
She asked a question after she sipped her tea.
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