A Medieval Knight in a Martial Arts Novel

Compared to the martial realm, the West had a comparatively lesser amount of absolute aura.

More precisely, Western practitioners possessed less aura when compared at the same level.

There could be various reasons for this, but the biggest one was that Europe had been caught up in the so-called Crusades for over a hundred years.

Do you have some talent?

Conscription.

You’re a noble’s son? Are you saying you won’t participate in the holy war? Are you really a noble?

Conscription.

Restore the glory of the great Roman Empire or something like that.

Conscription.

Using every possible method, they gathered talents from all over Europe, made them perform menial tasks under the title of ‘seeds,’ trained them, and if they showed promise, they were made apprentice knights to be nurtured further.

And in actual combat… regardless of what, they were driven like mad.

The survival rate was roughly around 30%… or so.

This was the current knight cultivation method in Europe.

If one were to ask if it was inefficient… it might be, but the fact that the so-called Crusades persisted without end proved its effectiveness.

As the number of knights increased, so did the overall combat strength. The knights who survived grew stronger as they weathered more battles, becoming less likely to fall.

It was through such rigorous methods that the current generation of knights was cultivated, surpassing even the Demonic Sect.

Through this process, their methods of meditation evolved toward stability rather than efficiency in aura accumulation due to the vast disparity in skill levels among knights.

You can’t expect a peasant from some village and an heir of a noble knight family to have the same ability to meditate without risk. If they were pushed too hard into unstable practices, they might end up possessed by demons.

Anyway…

“The hundred-year-old ginseng is really effective.”

Looking at the abundant aura accumulated in my meager mana core, I now understand why martial artists are so obsessed with spirit medicines. The aura from a single dose of spirit medicine far surpassed what one could obtain from lifetimes of meditation.

Of course, improper use could lead to demonic possession, but my meditation method was abnormally stable, allowing me to absorb the energy of the hundred-year-old ginseng without trouble.

Though it would take a few more days to fully assimilate.

“Thank you very much.”

“It’s only a reasonable reward, don’t worry about it. However…it’s about time we discussed the Demonic Sect. Do you think the Hainan Sword Sect can resist the Demonic Sect with our current forces?”

“I don’t know the extent of the Demonic Sect’s power, but if the rumors are true, the Hainan Sword Sect will struggle to fully withstand their attack. As for aid from the imperial army… I’ve heard they don’t interfere in martial matters.”

One doesn’t even know if a proper imperial army exists in this world. They seemed to have appeared as gatekeepers in the original story, but the country itself appears to exist.

“Currently, there’s no capable imperial army on this island.”

“Are they idle?”

“Where would a ruler care about a place originally intended for exiles? They only claim it as their land and leave it to rot.”

An island for exiles? Was Hainan Island originally such a place?

But that’s beside the point. What’s important now is to withstand the attack from the Demonic Sect.

Although the defenses have been strengthened, one can’t be complacent with just precautions.

“Leader, I’ve heard the key harbors are on high alert, but is there no way the enemy can sneak into this island?”

“Hmm. There are places where they could smuggle themselves in, but we’re already monitoring those. One would need an intimate knowledge of Hainan Island’s geography to find those spots, so the Demonic Sect members shouldn’t be able to come through them.”

How will the Demonic Sect attempt to enter?

The original story skipped over the process of the Demonic Sect wiping out the Hainan Sword Sect and occupying Hainan Island, leaving it a mystery.

If I knew their entry route, I could simply wait there and take out all the invaders at once. Although they’ve likely trained their water combat skills, they wouldn’t perish that easily.

“The Demonic Sect members are really causing trouble.”

“Their attacks claiming to unify the Central Plains is nothing new, so don’t worry.”

Despite those words, the Sect Leader’s face was full of anxiety. Though he told me not to worry, his expression clearly showed his suffering.

It was understandable.

To defend against the Demonic Sect while struggling to recover from the pirate attacks that caused considerable damage to the sect would stress anyone.

If I were in his position, I would have thrown a tantrum about the unfair situation.

“Have you sent any messages to the Martial Alliance for reinforcement?”

“They would take too long to arrive. Even for a message to reach them, it would take at least a couple of months…”

“Supposing they send reinforcements, it would take them another two months to get here, if not more.”

This is why they’ve targeted us first.

The distance between the Central Plains and Hainan Island was significant, after all.

Of course, even the Demonic Sect must endure a forced march traveling from Xinjiang to here, but Hainan Sword Sect, functionally isolated as it is, was deemed a strategic gain worth trying for.

Indeed, their plan in the original story bore fruit, as the fall of Hainan Sword Sect only became known to the Martial Realm long after their obliteration.

“You’ve done too much already. Rest for now; the preparations aren’t entirely complete, are they?”

It seemed like the Sect Leader had much to think about, so he suggested I head back.

I quietly rose from my seat and bowed to him.

“Leader, don’t overworry. I’ll also try to find a solution.”

“…Thank you.”

“Compared to the life you saved me, this is nothing.”

With that, I decided to leave, closing the hall’s door behind me.

———————

“Uncle, you’ve been practicing a lot lately!”

“I need to practice controlling this aura, or rather inner energy.”

“Ah…”

The amount of aura stored in my mana core far exceeds what I would have accumulated over two years. Not adapting quickly would certainly cause problems in real combat. Thus far, I avoided using much aura for fear of overdrawing, but now it’s a good opportunity to test my limits.

I gripped the wooden sword and slowly drew the aura within me.

This process, commonly referred to as extracting a sword beam, involved slowly infusing the mana transferred via the mana road into the sword.

To the point just before the wooden sword was on the verge of breaking. The wooden sword began trembling, enveloped in a bluish glow.

“Amazing! A sword beam! I can never make the blue light appear no matter how much inner energy I push into my sword!”

“First, you need to achieve the right level to create it.”

“But even after practicing hard, my skills don’t improve much. How did you become a supreme expert after only two years of study?”

At her question, I retracted my aura and turned to look at Hye-ryeong, who looked at me with wide eyes brimming with curiosity.

“Kill about 2000 people.”

The number of foes I’ve slain on the battlefield was roughly around that amount. The battlefields I wandered were usually full of enemies charging towards death.

In one battle, I might have personally killed close to a hundred enemies, so it wasn’t a joke to say I had slain close to two thousand.

“Two thousand?! Don’t joke about such serious matters!”

Hye-ryeong flailed her arms in shock. To someone as naive as she was, my statement probably sounded like a joke to tease her.

But it’s the truth.

“Frontline soldiers have to kill a lot of people; it’s just the nature of our job.”

Fighting in the name of ‘holy wars,’ filled with meaningless hatred, and slaughtering people without a second thought.

My two years were marked solely by bloodshed.

In the beginning, I would retch at the sight of a corpse and couldn’t eat. But eventually, I reached the point where I could eat while someone’s head was lopped off right in front of me, casually making quips.

…But now, it’s like a faded memory.

Sigh.

What’s the point of dwelling on such a gloomy past?

I came to this relatively peaceful Central Plains for a reason, and I should focus on dealing with the Demonic Sect.

If only blocking the Demonic Sect could guarantee lasting peace…

“Uncle? Are you alright?”

“What is it?”

“Your wooden sword…it’s broken…”

Hye-ryeong’s worried voice reached my ears. Glancing down at my wooden sword, I saw it had shattered from the middle as if a small bomb had detonated inside it.

“I was too distracted.”

Setting the broken wooden sword aside, I retrieved a new one.

“You’re overworking yourself. You should rest!”

“You’re one to talk. Haven’t you rested enough already?”

You’re part of the Hainan Sword Sect too, aren’t you? My words seemed to hit a nerve, as Hye-ryeong avoided my gaze.

“Anyway, the Sect Leader forbade me from fighting, so…”

Her voice carried a tinge of disappointment.

However, the ‘Sect Leader’…was he her uncle?

That explained why no one stopped her from doing what she liked.

I see.

But that’s his issue. As for me…

“Hye-ryeong, grab a wooden sword.”

“Yes?”

“Let’s have a light sparring match.”

One couldn’t simply toy with someone destined to become an extraordinary expert, as seen in the original story.

I decided to take care of Hye-ryeong to a certain extent.

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