Death King Karnak Novel - Chapter 12

Death King Karnak

3. The Dueling Trial (2)

Delphia’s Gladiator.

It is one of the legendary swordsmanship passed down from generation to generation in the Strauss family, a warrior with a great reputation on the continent.

It was rumored that Galard Strauss, the current head of the family, had mastered Delphia’s sword fighting techniques to the extreme and ascended to the position of king.

“The king’s swordsmanship……….”

Randolph was confused. The other knights who watched the duel had the same reaction. It wasn’t because the opponent came out with the legendary swordsmanship of King Mu.

“Who doesn’t know that?”

Delphia’s swordsmanship itself was widespread throughout the continent. But only at a basic level. Since it was such renowned swordsmanship, many people wanted to imitate it.

And everyone came to the same conclusion—Let’s get used to this.

Delphia’s sword fighting skills are strong only after learning martial arts. It gained such a reputation because its use of combat fighting was profound and powerful, but at the starting stage, it was inferior to even ordinary third-class swordsmanship. Instead, it was highly effective in mastering the basics, so among the knights, it is often taught as an introductory course to the starters.

Wait, did he learn it solely for this event?

‘What? Do you have any ulterior motives?’

Could it be that he had obtained the true Delphia sword fighting technique that is not known to the world, the fighting technique called the speculation? Is that why you went to the duel so confidently?

‘I only practiced for three months.’

Three months was challenging to learn the basics properly, let alone speculation.

‘Doesn’t the back-and-forth match?”

Randolph frowned at that moment because he couldn’t understand it at all. The onlookers also began to murmur.

“What?”

“That’s King Mu’s swordsmanship.”

“What about the legendary King Mu?”

“Oh, then, Sir Randolph, is it not a big deal for him?”

Yes.

Just as an outsider cannot understand an expert, an expert also cannot understand an outsider.

Any expert would know that even third-rate swordsmanship took several years to master properly, and even a lifetime of training in swordsmanship like the Delphia swordsmanship would not be enough.

But outsiders didn’t perceive it like that.

Regarding King Mu’s swordsmanship, wouldn’t it be possible to easily defeat a third-class swordsman who had been trained for several years after learning it for a few months?

It wasn’t a realistic fact.

Occasionally, the direct and young descendants of the Strauss family would take down veteran regular knights on their own.

But that was only because they were geniuses among geniuses, and Delphia’s swordsmanship didn’t make an ordinary person a first-class swordsman in a matter of months.

‘Therefore…….”

Randolph let out a blank laugh because he could understand the whole situation.

‘Did this ignorant little boy locked in a small room and ignorant of ways of the world get his hands on King Mu’s swordsmanship technique and thought it to be a great trump card in the fight against me?’

Everything made sense now.

“Kuuk, keukkeuk!” He straightened his back as he giggled.

‘It’s not a bad story.’

If there were a signboard saying King Mu’s swordsmanship, it would have been a more reasonable means to win the dueling trial.

“New lord of Zestrad! Justice shall be served in the name of Allium!” Randolph shouted vigorously while pointing his sword.

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Seeing the reactions around him, Karnak let out a sigh of relief.

‘Phew, I guess I can gloss over the past three months with this.’

Of course, he didn’t know Delphia’s sword fighting. The only thing he knew how to do was the showjumper. Even so, Karnak did this because he was trying to clear things up with him during this time.

He had left the house for several months to become powerful. Then there must be a basis for being so confident. Originally, he would have acted as a wizard, so there would have been no problem, but now that he was a knight, he would need a suitable excuse to do that.

Then, he asked his faithful attendant.

“Barros”

“What, Young Master?”

“Isn’t there something like this? It’s so great that everyone is astonished just by getting it, and at the same time, people can easily recognize it, and at the same time, I can imitate such swordsmanship.”

He was surprised at himself for asking such a question since he asked if there was a rare swordsmanship that could surprise everyone just by displaying its stance.

Wouldn’t the knights in a backward area like this could recognize such rare swordsmanship? It wasn’t that powerful swordsmanship, so could Karnak successfully master it?

“I’m not expecting an answer, so if there isn’t…”

“There is.”

“Eh?”

“There is. That kind of swordsmanship.”

Barros was someone who had walked the path of nothingness for over 100 years. During that tremendous amount of time, the swordsmanship he collected from all over the continent wasn’t just one or two.

“Sir Levon’s Delphia swordsmanship fits that condition perfectly. Sir Galard would be king at this point in the timeline.”

“Do you know how to do that?”

“A large floor.”

Three of the four famous martial kings fell at the hands of Barros. And their martial arts are also passed on to him.

It wasn’t that Barros was a genius of the century sent from heaven, exchanging and stealing swordsmanship techniques.

“Well, I just asked if I could learn it if you taught me.”

After tasting defeat, they were revived as Death Knights and became faithful servants of the Death King. Levon Strauss was also a loyal follower of the Death Knight Lord Barros, so he would obey as soon as he was commanded to teach him.

“Thanks to that, I learned everything from the four kings except for Raphael.”

For reference, there was a reason he couldn’t learn Raphael’s techniques. He was not made into a Death Knight by Karnak.

Raphael Crotalum was the most dangerous of the four kings. A true great hero of humanity.

Even in a hopeless situation where all the other kings had fallen, and even the three great wizards became servants of the King of the Dead, he didn’t give up and fought back until the end and inflicted a great deal of damage on Karnak.

And, befitting that heroic deed, he met a particularly harsh death.

After being defeated, he was appointed as the gatekeeper of the Imperial Palace of Necropolis and was bound at the eastern, western, and southern gates, respectively.

It might seem like bullshit to protect three places at the same time, but it all made sense when necromancy was involved.

Gather the bones to raise them as skeleton soldier and place it in the east. Separate the flesh to make a flesh golem and place it in the west. Detach the soul, attach it to the living armor, and place it in the south. He was inflicted with eons of pain and could neither die nor live.

Karnak stuck out his tongue while recalling the past.

“Wow, was I such a lunatic? Why didn’t I feel this way back then?”

“Isn’t that because you’re back in your human body now?”

“Isn’t that so? You have to live like a human being. It’s okay.”

He wondered if it’s still a long way to go to live like a human being. To have a conversation like that without feeling such burden. Unfortunately neither he, the master, nor his servant seemed to become human to that extent yet.

In any case, King Mu’s swordsmanship was a perfect indication to let everyone misunderstood that the young lord had gained strength. They wouldn’t doubt it even after the duel was over.

‘The problem at hand is…….’

Karnak gulped while holding the sword.

‘I only need to survive.’

Abandoning the shield, Karnak was able to show off the basic holding style of Delphia’s swordsmanship. And He began getting beaten to dust after that.

“Kuh! Kaah! Kuk!”

When he had a shield, he could block the entire blow, so it was a little easier. But he had to raise his sword to stop it now.

Sir Randolph suddenly closed the distance. And did something.

What did he do? Karnak couldn’t understand what had happened.

He knew Randolph had swung his sword because he saw something flash, but that was it.

“Keuk!”

Sparks flew over the armor. Randolph’s blow struck him again.

Fortunately, it was aimed at the armor, so it was a blow, not a cut.

Karnak rolled on the floor again after getting blown away by the impact.

“Hmph! That thing again…”

Randolph was speechless for a moment. There was a difference from his previous rolling.

‘Huh?’

He only rolled.

But right now?

“Not yet!”

Karnak, who had been rolling continuously, sat down in a general posture and aimed his sword again.

“Come! Knight of Deventer!”

He didn’t wholly sit down. He knelt on one knee, pointing only the sword forward. But how was that kind of posture possible?

It was like an eagle eying its prey, lowering its posture, and glaring at the enemy. It even makes a loud noise in that state.

“Don’t even think you can defeat Zestrad’s lineage like this!”

He was so confident that even Randolph was confused for a moment.

‘What is this guy talking about? I indeed killed all of them!’

Well, it doesn’t matter. After all, Randolph had no choice but to chase and defeat them.

Like the owner of a high estate, he wore the finest armor. He wouldn’t die an unsightly death if he used his hands and feet till his last moment.

‘Let’s put energy first.’

A fierce slash struck Karnak’s armor like a flash. With a groan, Karnak continued to roll on the floor.

“Kek! Keuk! Kek!”

It didn’t get fatal even after that. As soon as he was hit, he threw his body and rolled on the floor, so only the shock was felt, and the armor was not pierced. After that, he raised his upper body again and made a loud roar while maintaining his posture.

“The Zestrad’s sword is unbreakable!”

Randolph’s eyes show a glow.

“Surprisingly, your defense is pretty good. Is it the deflection of Delphia’s swordsmanship technique?”

Karnak sneered inwardly.

‘It’s funny because there’s no way I could do that, right?’

It was just like Barros had said.

He had no discerning skills since he was only a country knight.

He gained confidence.

With a burst of spirit, Karnak raised his fighting spirit again.

“Taaaat!”

It made Barros very happy.

‘You’re good at getting out of the way. Didn’t I teach you well?’

Randolph didn’t know it, but Karnak used his armor to deflect slashes and bewitch the enemy.

Without that, no matter how hard the armor is, how could it be able to withstand that much?

While Barros trained him by hitting him, he deliberately forged him to react like that.

At the beginner level, Barros deliberately hid the fact from him because if he had become conscious of that fact, he couldn’t do what he was doing now.

‘You’re doing much better than I expected.’

He was still only getting beaten up. He was still flying and rolling on the floor. His expression seemed confident even after that, and his eyes shone brightly as if they were going to see the world!

“The Zestrad’s sword is unbreakable!”

Barros laughed so much while hearing Karnak’s cries.

‘Well, bluffing was originally your forte, right? You’re doing great.’

Being a necromancer was basically a job that involved a lot of boasting. That was because it was a technique that only increased effect when a dark and evil atmosphere was set up, and the opponent was instilled with fear.

Karnak of the past was almost accustomed to boasting about anything. That long experience shined brightly at that moment.

“Come on, Sir Randolph!”

One knee was on the ground, and the sword was pointing forward! It was all very convincing! To an outsider, it would seem as if it was a technique mastered by him all along!

He asserted himself with all strength after that. He wasn’t defeated! He was fighting a harsh fight with his opponent! The audience admired his courageous appearance.

“Ohhh!”

“The Young Lord is so strong!”

The knights were also admiring in a different way.

The Deventer knights paid their respects to Karnak’s struggle…….

“I can see what that young master is aiming for.”

“If you’re in a position to lose anyway, are you trying to protect the family’s honor as much as possible?”

“Even though he has no skills, he still has a noble spirit.”

The Zestrad knights were wetting their eyes.

‘To think I treated such a person as a fool…’

‘It was my negligence. Even if he didn’t have the skills, he wasn’t lacking in any way to serve as the lord!’

‘What’s wrong with not having the skills?’

‘Indeed, his spirit possesses chivalrous nobility!’

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Contrary to the evaluation of the surroundings, Karnak, the person involved, was fed up.

“Ah, how long do I have to do this?”

Randolph moved just like Barros had predicted. Thanks to that, Karnak could endure long enough because of his training. However, he had enough. With only one month of training, he was gradually reaching his limit.

‘When will the opportunity come, Barros?’

Fortunately, Randolph’s patience was also within Barros’ expectations.

‘Okay, the duel has heated up enough now.’

After deciding to end it, Randolph slowly straightened his sword.

Barros shouted again at that moment.

“Young Master!”

‘Oh, now?’

The delighted Karnak charged ahead. Meanwhile, the gigantic Randolph also took a step forward. Closing the distance in an instant, Randolph did something.

What was he doing? Though it was the same as before, it still wasn’t at a level that Karnak couldn’t perceive it.

Just rush in and count in your head.

‘One, two, three!’

And he places his sword toward the ground!

Clang!

The swords collided with each other, and sparks flew.

Randolph opened his eyes wide in surprise.

‘You blocked that?’

After lightly teasing, he tried to cut off his legs, but surprisingly, the opponent was not dazzled at all and hit the bottom slash with precision! A raw beginner who was no better than a stranger to swordsmanship!

‘What in the world…’

It was at that moment that Randolph got flustered and hesitated.

‘That’s my chance!’

Karnak’s hands became faster.

Clang!

2-step upward cut, overkill.

The technique of the future martial king Leven Strauss, who had practiced it to death daily, unleashed a burst of light in the air.

[To be continued.]