Chapter 8
–Relax your grip. Your shoulders are too tense. Don’t be fooled by nonsense like you’ll naturally loosen up as you train. You need to build a solid foundation from the start if you ever want to reach the higher realms.
I had received swordsmanship instruction from the vice-captain of the Breio Knights.
Though I had only learned the Style in theory, I was thoroughly trained in the fundamentals.
Swoosh!
I demonstrated one of the basic forms of the Breio sword style.
I wasn’t teaching the entire style—just enough to adjust Sir Brown’s flawed techniques.
“C-Could you show me that again?”
At House Breio, I had been harshly criticized for never being able to properly execute even a single form.
And yet here I was, performing the Breio sword style with clarity.
It wasn’t enough to elicit awe, but for a knight who had spent his whole life in a mere baron’s household, it was more than enough to leave him speechless.
“This time, try channeling your aura while following along. Move half a breath faster than before, and when you release your aura, imagine it surging from your energy core (Dantian) up to the crown of your head.”
Sir Brown repeated my movements several times.
Then we resumed hunting.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Shhhh! Thwip!
Time passed, and the sun rose high into the sky.
It was the hour when beasts took shelter from the heat.
But I disturbed their midday slumber.
Ash-gray wolves, jackals, hyenas, and spotted boars lived along the eastern forest’s edge.
None of them dared venture into the forest’s center.
Because of the goblins, even the Barony soldiers couldn’t handle them.
‘A few knights from House Breio could wipe them out easily.’
But this wasn’t Breio.
The Hebron Family’s sole knight, Sir Brown, was no match for House Breio’s forces.
In the past, they had hired mercenaries to thin out the goblins.
But even that had become too costly, so the creatures were left to multiply unchecked.
Now, the goblins ruled the eastern forest like kings.
After two rounds of hunting, I approached the soldiers who were idly standing by.
“Getting bored just standing there?”
A soldier named Pelson, who was facing me, responded on behalf of the group.
“N-No, sir!”
“Oh. Your body must be itching to move, isn’t it?”
“N-No, sir! We’re fine!”
I replied sharply.
“Is it so easy to say it’s okay? You’re soldiers paid from this estate’s treasury, and yet you’re wasting time standing around? That’s what you call being fine? Where’s your discipline? Especially when the young lord you’re supposed to serve is out here sweating and hunting beasts!”
Pelson looked nervous.
He mulled over what to say, then tightly shut his eyes and shouted.
“You stand corrected! My body is itching to move, Sir!”
“Is that so? Do the rest of you feel the same?”
“Yes, sir!”
“Good. I’ll fill your idle time to the brim. Everyone, grab your spears.”
I picked up a spear and assumed a stance.
The soldiers followed without complaint.
They had seen me instructing Sir Brown earlier.
“Keep the angle like this. Align the tip of your spear with the center of your forehead. Think of your feet as shoulder-width apart, then bring your left foot half a step forward. Hold the spear with both hands—don’t grip it so your hands touch. Imagine there’s space for another hand between yours.”
I went around correcting each soldier’s form individually.
It took quite a bit of time, but eventually, they all matched my stance. Then, I thrust my spear forward with power.
“From that stance, step forward with your right foot and extend the spear—like this!”
Swooosh!
The spear sliced through the air with a sharp crack.
It extended farther than its actual length, as if shrinking the distance between the enemy in an instant.
That effect came from precise footwork.
The soldiers who had mimicked my thrust stared at me, wide-eyed.
I was surprised too.
Even though I had only understood spear techniques theoretically, it was quite good.
And the soldiers had executed them far better than I had expected.
‘Individually, their skills are lacking—but as a group, they’re threatening.’
The thirty regular soldiers had thrust their spears in perfect unison, creating a single powerful wave of force.
It gave the illusion that they were one body—and that was the essence of Monolith Spearmanship.
“While I’m off hunting, keep practicing this stance. Pelson.”
“Yes, sir!”
“You lead the chant. The rhythm goes: Thrust! …Recover. Thrust! …Recover. If your voice is weak or you fall out of rhythm, you’ll be sent back to the barracks to start over from the beginning.”
“Yes, sir!”
The soldiers looked eager to move.
They were itching to master the spear technique I had just taught them.
It seemed they, too, had recognized that I was passing on an amazing martial art.
“Thrust! .…Recover. Thrust!”
The soldiers moved in unison to Pelson’s commands.
As their momentum grew and their spears thrust forward in rhythmic precision, the beasts that had been peeking at us from the forest quickly vanished from sight.
Sir Brown approached me and asked.
“You’ve trained in spear techniques as well?”
The only martial skills Louis de Hebron was supposed to have learned from Sir Brown were swordsmanship and footwork.
“I read about it. The barony’s library was full of treasures.”
Brown didn’t know whether to believe me or not. He looked confused.
After all, he had been the one personally instructing me in combat.
* * *
By sunset, we had hunted over forty ash-gray wolves and even more spotted boars.
The meat alone would be enough to feed the territory’s people well for a while.
No one dared claim the spoils.
Any prey hunted using the barony’s soldiers belonged to the lord.
“Use these hides to craft leather armor for the troops.”
“Ash-gray wolf hides would fetch a better price sold as luxury goods than made into armor.”
Sir Brown was a loyal retainer.
He thought first of the poor lord before the impoverished soldiers.
“Sir Brown.”
“Yes, young master.”
“Do you really think now’s the time to be nitpicking costs? We didn’t suffer any losses today because it was just the two of us hunting. But what do you think would happen if these men entered the forest and fought goblins? How many do you think would come back alive?”
“Are you serious about subjugating the eastern forest?”
“I am.”
At first, Brown seemed to dismiss my words as the reckless dream of a young noble.
But now his expression had changed.
A thirty-eight-year-old knight, seasoned and world-weary, was now taking a nineteen-year-old’s words seriously.
“I will follow your orders.”
I understood his response.
He had probably lived without hope all his life.
Most accepted that they would live and die within the confines of Hebron.
Dusk settled over the land.
From here on, the time of day favored beasts over humans.
I felt eyes watching us from deep within the forest.
As I raised my aura and focused, I locked eyes with the source of the gaze.
A goblin scout.
‘They’re smart enough to send scouts instead of charging blindly. They must have substantial numbers. If we rush in without a plan, we could get wiped out…..’
If we attacked the forest in our current state, Hebron would be doomed.
If they launched an attack instead, we would suffer tremendous losses. And they surely knew it.
They’ll come when their forces are ready. We need to strike first.
* * *
For a whole month, we hunted the beasts of the eastern forest.
At first, only Brown and I went out. But once the soldiers had learned the nine basic spear forms of Monolith Spear technique, they began fighting alongside us.
A month wasn’t a long time.
But for those who had spent their entire lives grinding their teeth, waiting for talent to awaken, it was an eternity.
‘This is it!’
I had grown accustomed to the Antaria Aura Cultivation Method.
The large amount of aura absorbed into my body now swirled fiercely around my dantian, gradually layering itself like sediment.
And just like compacted dust forms a gem, it had crystallized into a solid core.
It was far larger than anything I had achieved before.
At this level, I could wield Inferno’s full power for over ten minutes.
I now possessed power on par with a mid-level spirit summoner.
But I wasn’t satisfied.
‘This is just a bit above average. Among those who made a name for themselves at my age, none were below this level. I’m still far from catching up to my brothers.’
The direct heirs of House Brieo had all risen to prominence before turning twenty.
The eldest was praised as the greatest knight in the Xenon royal court. The second was a promising magical prodigy. The youngest had formed a contract with a high-tier water spirit at the age of thirteen.
Of course, most of these rumors had been spread by Breio themselves.
Still, compared to them, I was ordinary.
And now, I bore one more responsibility.
‘I am the heir of Hebron.’
That was something I’d never considered before.
Back then, I only ever thought about becoming the best. Managing a territory hadn’t even crossed my mind.
After all, I assumed the kingdom’s top talents would govern House Breio in my place.
–A lord doesn’t rule the land—he places someone capable in charge and pulls the strings from behind the curtain.
That was the way of Breio.
The method of a noble with real power.
‘There are people who were once on Breio’s recruitment list but ended up discarded. Men who looked promising at first but turned out mediocre. Even so, they’re more than qualified for Hebron. For now, I’ll rely on them to fill the gaps. No—I'll teach them a method that surpasses Breio itself.’
There were many who had wept and begged for a chance.
Those who had been used and discarded by Breio resented House Breio—but none dared openly rebel.
Some of them returned to their hometowns and lived like broken men.
No matter where they were invited—be it by some other noble house—it simply wasn’t Breio.
‘Unfortunately, I can’t bring in those who were once favored by House Breio. They might have been connected to my assassination.’
It wouldn’t be easy now, but one day, I had to uncover the assassin’s identity and take my revenge. Only then would I truly be at peace.
‘First, I need to open the way—at least enough to send letters. Once the eastern forest is cleared, I’ll gather people. Those who can help us surpass even Breio.’
I wore armor hammered from thin steel plates, draped with ash-gray wolf hide.
Just a few days ago, the fit around my shoulders and waist had been snug—but now I had to loosen the straps.
My muscles had already bulked up.
I hadn’t wasted a single moment of that month.
Every day was spent on physical conditioning, practicing sword techniques and aura cultivation I'd only known in theory.
I had refined Antaria Swordsmanship to better suit my body.
And when necessary, I didn't hesitate to incorporate techniques from other houses..
“I’m ready, young master.”
Sir Brown had changed as well—dramatically so since a month ago.
Not only were his movements lighter, but there was also a new vitality in his expression.
A life once headed downhill as a knight had now taken a turn for the better.
He was growing faster than he had in his prime.
And he could feel the change himself.
When we stepped out into the training yard, the soldiers were already assembled in formation.
Unlike before, they now stood in perfectly aligned ranks and files without the slightest deviation.
At last, they actually looked like soldiers.
“Who told you to rest?!”
Even before I could raise my voice, the soldiers snapped into motion with practiced instinct.
“Thrust! Recover! Thrust!”
With synchronized shouts, they thrust their spears forward.
They moved like a living wall of steel, each thrust a deadly siege weapon.
Only after executing the full sequence of Monolith Spearmanship—from beginning to end—did they withdraw their spears and stand at attention.
Their eyes were fixed ahead, but their ears were turned toward me.
My parents came to see me and the troops off.
“My son… are you really going?”
“Yes. I am.”
My mother showed her worry through her words and actions. My father, only through his eyes.
“Dear, this is a man’s duty. Don’t stop him.”
Father was making clothes for the baby sister who would be born in six months. Though the child hadn’t even been born yet, he was certain she would be a girl.
That was both his hobby and his talent.
