Hero’s Downfall Report

77 – The Knight’s Haven (4)

Cain vividly remembered the appearance of the Black Knight.

He broke her wrist and blocked the swords of two Knights of the Holy Grail. Even though he responded slowly to incoming attacks, he almost always blocked them.

When it receives a strong attack, it turns into a shadow and retreats behind her. After she defended, she almost always counterattacked. Actually, I didn’t attack that much, but each attack was heavy.

In front of her Lily, Cain demonstrated her posture one by one as he remembered it. She even had help in some areas.

“Would you like to attack slowly, as if moving out of the way and cutting down? Uh. Like that. Then, he put it on the sword and crossguard and pushed it away. Then he entered her arm like this and swung his sword as if he was striking her cheek.”

“So, are you saying that you blocked it with this attitude?”

Lily had really perfect posture. If she was wearing even a black cloth, one would mistake her for being a knight with a scabbard.

“That’s right. Exactly. That’s amazing. Even though my explanations were clumsy in many ways, they were easy to follow… “

“No. “It was enough.”

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Still, Lily seemed to be in a good mood and gently pulled his arms together. Putting down her sword for a moment, she let down her hair and tied it back up tightly with her braid. Lily flashed her breasts in a subtle gesture, but Cain had other thoughts and was looking towards her reeds, so it had no effect.

“Big. Greatness. She certainly seems a bit different from the last time we bumped into each other at the monastery. At that time, I was borrowing the body of an apprentice knight. But this time… “

“This time it will be his own body. Because it came down from a ghost ship, no, a monster ship that flew in the sky. I don’t know where they got such a horrible thing from. “Do you have any clues?”

“I’m a little confused.” Lily even sucked slightly on her lower lip, looking really embarrassed.

“Because it’s difficult?”

“Me. What did you do at a time like this? So, when the clues point directly opposite each other. So, what I mean is… ah. How should I say it… “

Although Lily was embarrassed, she didn’t know how to express it, so she stamped her foot slightly in frustration.

“Are you saying that the overall situation and intuition point to the opposite? For example, logically it is clearly on the right, but intuition and feeling are certain that it is on the left… “

Lily’s face brightened. She even clapped her hands softly.

“Yes! You’re right. “How did you know?”

“It’s an experience, right? It happens more often than you might think. If you work at the Security Bureau, you will experience a lot more. By the way, have you ever heard of that? The saying goes, ‘Everyone carries a criminal under their sleeve.'”

“Uh… “I’ve never heard of it.”

Cain said with a grin, picking up Lily’s training knife and handing it over.

“I also heard this during my continuing education. It means that everyone has prejudices and prejudices. Some things are stuck in your mind without you even realizing it, and then pop out when a specific stimulus is given. The important thing is that there is no need to suppress it or, conversely, to blindly believe in it.”

“It’s difficult. “Then what should I do?”

“According to old men who retired from the Royal Guard, they said to refer to it as one opinion. Intuition may be true, it may be the truth, but it may also be a misunderstanding.

But it’s clear that I just came up with that idea. In that case, I taught them that they should consider the basis of ‘why’ they came up with that thought.

Did that intuition come from my unfounded prejudice, or did it come from a feeling accumulated through long experience and training? So tell me. “If you pointed it out, there must be a reason.”

Lily seemed to feel a little more relaxed. She was just as embarrassed.

“I understand. First… Let’s start by talking about swordsmanship.

Although all swordsmanships in the world are the same, there are slight differences in the weapons mainly used or the philosophies and doctrines of combat, and thus the methods of dealing with situations are also different.

The East uses one-handed swords and staffs for thrusting, the Empire uses one- or two-handed swords, and the North and West use long, curved swords.

Of course, this is the overall trend, but it varies depending on the region and from whom you learned it, and there are also significant differences depending on the order of knights.

But this sword technique does not fit into any of them.”

Cain was a little disappointed that the clues had been cut off, but there were some parts that made sense. If someone is related to the Demon Lord, uses shadow magic, and wields a sword sheath, it wouldn’t be surprising if they had something unique about them.

But Lily’s words were not over.

“But it is also a swordsmanship that can be seen everywhere. No. To be exact, it’s not even technology.”

“What do you mean?”

“The postures you showed are all mistakes that trainees often make.”

Cain was so dazed that he couldn’t respond properly to Lily’s words. So Lily bowed her head slightly in regret and quickly comforted him.

“Ah. Also… It’s a little strange… “

“No. No. Say it. “Why did you think that?”

“First, this posture.” Lily repeated her defensive stance in which she had twisted her wrists. “You said you broke her wrist to release the first shot and block the second?”

“That’s right.”

Although he was still dazed, Cain listened intently to Lily’s explanation.

No sword method in the world teaches you to bend your wrist in a defensive stance. This is because power cannot be properly transmitted to the sword.

Rather, the wrist is the part of the body that is emphasized in attacks. And that too in attack, not defense. Protect your own wrist and aim for the opponent’s wrist.

“If your opponent hurts his wrist and cannot hold a sword, you can easily take care of both your safety and victory. Also, I am more conscious of my torso than I think, but not of my wrists and arms.”

Cain understood.

“That’s right. There are many wandering knights who wear prosthetic arms instead of dueling in exchange for money. “That’s why.”

“Yes. And in this position… Excuse me, I’m in a defensive posture with my wrists bent. “Can you do it again?”

Cain took her stance. Lily gently pressed her sword against his. Even though she didn’t seem to have applied much force, her wrist was sore and the knife was pushed out.

“You’re in an unstoppable position, this.”

“Yes. I’m sure. “In the process of deflecting, my wrist would have been further twisted, and if I had ‘blocked’ it later, it would have definitely been a huge strain.”

“Couldn’t your wrists be strong?”

“If that were the case, I wouldn’t have bothered to get out of the way. “I would have taken a picture and pressed it again.”

It was a reasonable point. So, in terms of swordsmanship alone, it means that he was very immature and immature. Not being able to keep even the most basic of basics.

“Okay. I understood that part for now. Then the next question is, the sword is obviously slow? But when he had to block it, he blocked it exactly. “How do I explain this?”

Lily nodded her head in response to Cain’s question.

“Would you like to hit me with a sword? Slowly.”

Because it wasn’t sparring, I was able to do that without any pressure. She struck down the sword so slowly that Cain found it difficult to even press her skin. Lily blocked her sword without difficulty.

“A little faster this time.”

As if she were a standard-bearer waving her flag, Cain swung her sword sharply. She’s faster than before, but she’s still barely visible. Lily blocked it without difficulty this time. She got stuck at the same spot as before.

“What does this mean?”

“Try to hit it quickly this time. “With all my might.”

“It’s not sparring. “What if I get hurt?”

Lily smiled brightly at Cain’s concern.

“Do you truly believe that you can hurt me?”

“Are you black again?”

“Then scold me. I’m asking you a favor because I also have some faith in it. And, it would be difficult to explain it otherwise.”

“Be prepared. Goes.”

Cain held her training sword with both hands. Raised high above her head, in the ready stance of a hawk ready to snatch her prey. Of course she didn’t forget to nod her head once before attacking.

She swung with all her might. If she was hit like that, she would be seriously injured. But Lily’s movements were very slow. So much so that she wonders if Cain should slow her down momentarily.

However, she was blocked.

Of course, out of concern for Cain’s wrist, Lily did not strike Cain’s sword away at the exact same point as before. As she accepted it, she stepped back slightly, and then gradually pushed back with more force, thereby reducing her shock.

“… How did you do it? It was definitely slow?”

“It’s a simple trick. Do you remember the central tenet of imperial swordsmanship?”

It was a bit of a random question. Cain answered quickly without hesitation.

“I teach you to break momentum. Faster and stronger cuts. More precise and sharp thrusts for stabbing. Offensively.”

“To do this, you must be able to estimate the opponent’s strength and speed. So, trainees and apprentice knights are first trained to counter attacks from senior knights. Of course, it has been passed down as a bad habit among the Knights… “

Lily shook her head vigorously, as if trying to shake off her bad memories.

“Anyway. Perhaps the sheathed knight lifted his sword a little slowly until the halfway point. Then, at a critical moment, it was suddenly lifted like this.”

Lily raised her sword. It slowly rose to the level of her solar plexus, but quickly rose to the tip of her nose. Cain, seeing the angle of her arms and her position, quickly understood her.

“It’s a trick. The speed is shown to be deliberately slow, and then at the last moment, the lift is suddenly lifted… “

“Yes. For example, if a normal swordsman takes 3 seconds to swing his sword three times, the knight with this sheath takes 5 seconds at first. Then 3 seconds. The third time, you swing it in one second. So you have no choice but to fall for the trick.”

“What kind of technology is that?”

“It’s not technology.” Lily declared.

“That means being dragged around by the sword. It is similar to what swordsmen with large two-handed swords show. At first, it may be difficult to swing it once, but if you keep swinging it, centrifugal force and rhythm will develop, and the speed will gradually increase. “It wasn’t a large sword, but do you remember Arianne’s swordsmanship with an equally long two-handed sword?”

I couldn’t forget it. Because her sword dance was truly bizarre. The sword was fluid and did not stop for a single moment. She continued to punch the air, but it was steady and she didn’t seem to be out of breath at all.

“I remember. But the sheathed knight is not a large two-handed sword. “It’s just an imperial sword.”

“So, it means that you are also immature in handling a sword. When looking at the overall level, it is safe to view it as moving from a startup page to a squire. But… I’m not sure if this makes sense.

If you’re really at that level, you can’t beat that many knights. If you were Cain, you would have defeated her very easily. “There are more variables, but I don’t know what they are.”

Lily’s words were shocking.

So, doesn’t that mean that the knight with the scabbard isn’t even as skilled as an apprentice knight?