Return of The Martial King

Chapter 252

"Then, here I come again, Russ!"

"Yes, brother!"

The two clashed once more.

Golden and blue auras once again filled the air as the ground bore the brunt of their fierce contest.

Boom! Crash! Rumble!

While they tilled the field and tested their might, the duel proved to be a strangely productive endeavor for the pair.

From afar, Iniya waved her hand, cheering for Repenhardt.

"Repenhardt-nim, fighting!"

Beside her, Siris, suddenly realizing the moment, hurriedly followed up with an awkward expression.

"M-me too! Fighting!"

Her face immediately turned red, clearly embarrassed by her outburst.

Seeing their cheers, Attila smirked mischievously.

"Isn't it unfair to only cheer for the White King? Hey there! Russ! Give it your all!"

Tassid chuckled slyly and joined in.

"Yeah, buddy! Give him a good hit for once!"

Russ's expression turned peculiar.

On one side, two beautiful elf women were cheering sweetly like songbirds, but on his side? A burly troll and a rough-looking orc were shouting encouragements with voices so fierce it felt more like a threat to not lose than actual support.

"...Why does this feel strangely upsetting?"

Perhaps heaven heard his lament because this time, a clear, melodious voice chimed in support.

"You can do it, Sir Russ!"

It was Sillan, whose beauty rivaled that of the elven women.

"Wait, this makes me feel even worse…."

Still, any cheer was better than none. After all, Titima, in her usual indifference, couldn’t have cared less whether Russ was dueling or not. She lay curled up like a sunbathing cat in the corner of a mat, dozing lazily.

"Ugh, could you fight quieter? It’s so loud…."

It wasn’t just Russ and Repenhardt here. Tassid, who was usually forbidden from sparring, had eagerly joined in, his eyes gleaming. Attila, feeling the need to loosen up, had also tagged along.

And, of course, where Repenhardt went, Iniya followed closely with an eager shine in her eyes. This naturally led Siris to scowl and follow as well.

Sillan had decided to join purely for the amusement of it all, and when Sillan moved, Titima couldn’t stand being apart from "her stuff" and trailed right behind.

Except for Sillan, everyone present was from a warrior class. Due to the rain, they had all been forbidden from sparring until now, so the restriction applied equally to them. The others had already loosened up their muscles through sparring and wore satisfied expressions on their faces.

As she watched the match, Iniya reached into a basket placed near the mat and pulled out salmon sandwiches and drinks. It was a lunchbox she claimed to have made herself.

"Enjoy these while you watch," she said with a bright smile.

Iniya handed out the sandwiches equally to Attila, Tassid, Sillan, and even Titima. These individuals were all close to Repenhardt, and she was diligently following Sillan’s advice about securing alliances, win over the generals by starting with their mouths.

When it came to handing one to Siris, Iniya hesitated briefly, but she couldn’t exactly exclude her in this situation, so she reluctantly offered it.

"M-Miss Siris, please have one too."

"I brought my own lunchbox," Siris replied curtly.

She pulled out her own basket with a composed expression. Inside were croquettes with olive oil and garlic sauce on white bread, paired with a salad and even a fine-quality wine. Compared to Iniya’s lunchbox, it was far more varied and extravagant.

"Here, everyone, please enjoy. ...Well, Miss Iniya, feel free to have some too if you’d like."

An impromptu picnic feast unfolded on the mat. What had started as a gathering for sparring among aura users had somehow turned into a lively picnic.

Amidst the cheerful atmosphere, Iniya and Siris exchanged smiles.

"You’re quite good at cooking, Miss Iniya."

"And so are you, Miss Siris. Hohoho."

Although their lips smiled, their eyes told a very different story.

"...Why does it feel cold all of a sudden?" Tassid, who lacked awareness but had excellent intuition, mumbled blankly.

"...It’s just your imagination," Attila responded vaguely, like a sage observing the scene with calm detachment.

"Fighting! Anyone! Go, go!" Sillan cheered irresponsibly from the side.

Meanwhile, Titima let out a loud yawn, entirely indifferent. "Haaahm, I’m so sleepy…."

Whatever the case, it was undeniably a laid-back scene, except for the constant BOOM! BOOM! BOOOOM! of thunderous explosions erupting from nearby.

*         *         *

Much later, Repenhardt and Russ, drenched in sweat, finally approached the mat. As they looked at the spread of food, Repenhardt let out an exclamation.

"Oh, what a feast!"

Having been sparring non-stop since morning, they were understandably starving. Repenhardt eagerly stuffed croquettes and bread into his mouth. Meanwhile, Iniya fidgeted with her fingers and muttered under her breath.

"I-I brought sandwiches too…"

Of course, the grand and boundless stomach of Gym Unbreakable had more than enough room to accommodate the lunches prepared by both women. Repenhardt even finished off Iniya's sandwiches, chewing them with gusto.

He munched loudly and gulped down his drink in one big swig.

Watching this boisterous scene of eating, Siris subtly furrowed her brows. It had always been a grievance of hers, Repenhardt had an annoyingly messy way of eating.

‘Wasn’t he a graceful mage back in the day? Where did all those habits go?’

Then again, anyone who spent about four years eating under Gym Unbreakable’s rule would likely end up the same.

In contrast, Iniya gazed at Repenhardt with a dreamy look, her cheeks turning a soft pink.

‘Ah, even the way he eats is so manly!’

As he continued eating, Repenhardt began reflecting on the day’s sparring sessions. Besides Russ, he had also sparred with Iniya, Attila, and Tassid. In every match, he managed to dominate his opponents.

‘My skills have definitely improved.’

Even setting aside the imperfect mastery of the sixfold Calamity Horn, just fully awakening the fivefold version had noticeably enhanced all of his physical abilities and aura reserves.

Not long ago, it had been quite challenging for him to face opponents like Iniya or Attila. Especially with Attila, winning even one out of three bouts through pure martial arts had been difficult. He had to combine magic just to hold his ground because Attila's combat prowess was exceptional.

But now, he could maintain an advantage without resorting to magic. That was truly a remarkable improvement.

‘But my magic skills are still frustratingly stagnant.’

When it came to martial arts, his progress was evident as long as he focused and put in the effort. But his magic? It was crawling at a snail’s pace. It had been ages since he reached the seventh circle, yet his mana growth was minimal, and he still couldn’t cast more than half of the seventh-circle spells.

Thanks to his insight into the tenth circle, he could twist and combine existing spells to create new ones. But raising his absolute magic level clearly required much more time.

Repenhardt paused in thought.

There didn’t seem to be any short-term solution to increasing his mana further until he acquired the relics of the Four Divine Beasts. However, accessing the barrier where those relics were located required at least eighth-circle magic. That was why he hadn’t been able to make a move yet.

‘But now, I have Fist and Mana Become One.’

*         *         *        

Repenhardt pondered further. If he applied the fusion technique of aura and magic, Fist and Mana Become One, a method he had never used before, perhaps it could lead to new possibilities.

‘Should I start searching for the relics of the Four Divine Beasts? But if I go and fail to get through, it’ll just be a waste of time.’

Meanwhile, Russ was engaged in conversation with Sillan, discussing the incident when Sillan had been kidnapped in Zeppelin.

“…That’s how I managed to escape safely. If it hadn’t been for Titima, things could’ve gone really bad.”

“Still, with Titima’s skills, I don’t think her opponents would’ve been much of a challenge,” Russ replied.

Everyone present had sparred with each other throughout the morning, and Russ had also crossed swords with Titima. While her skills couldn’t compare to an aura user’s, her level of mastery was nonetheless astonishing. Compared to someone like Christine, whom Russ was familiar with, Titima seemed to hold a clear advantage.

Sillan shook his head. “Not exactly. She somehow got her hands on Messiah, the Sacred Radiance Sword. Because of that, even I had to put in some effort.”

Russ nodded in understanding. “Come to think of it, Eusus showed up with a bizarre artifact too. And from what my brother said, others had something as well. Really makes you wonder where they’re getting all this stuff…”

Though he had won thanks to mastering the Void Sword, Russ still shuddered at the memory of the ordeal. He clicked his tongue in disapproval.

At that moment, Repenhardt, who had been eating, furrowed his brows and joined the conversation.

“Wait, Sillan. Did you just say Messiah, the Sacred Radiance Sword?”

“You know it? Well, I guess it’s famous enough,” Sillan replied.

But Repenhardt’s surprise wasn’t simply because Christine had acquired such a renowned artifact.

‘Messiah, the Sacred Radiance Sword… that’s the sword Siris used to wield, isn’t it?’

The Messiah wasn’t just a famous artifact, it had personal significance to Repenhardt. It was an item he had come across during his travels across the continent, before attaining the tenth circle of magic. It hadn’t been retrieved from a dungeon but discovered at the estate of Baron Silniac, a fallen noble family of the Kingdom of Hallein. Repenhardt had spent a night at their mansion and found the sword abandoned in their storage.

At the time, the Messiah had been cursed, which led the Silniac family to seal it away rather than use it, despite its status as a rare artifact. Repenhardt had purchased it at a modest price, easily lifted the curse, and then gifted it to Siris.

The Messiah, the Sacred Radiance Sword amplifies all forms of energy its wielder possesses. Simply put, the more diverse the user's abilities, the greater the amplification. Because of this, the sword was a perfect fit for Siris, who wielded swordsmanship, spirit magic, and traditional magic all at once.

Although the amplification had its limits, leading Siris to pass the sword to her elven adjutant after she reached her peak, it was an incredibly valuable artifact for her current self, who had not yet regained the strength she once possessed in her past life.

For this reason, Repenhardt had planned to visit the Baron Silniac estate whenever he had the chance in this lifetime, intending to retrieve the Messiah for Siris. That was also why he hadn’t shown much interest in Eusus’s artifact, the magical armor Eldrad.

Repenhardt groaned as he scratched his head.

‘Ugh, I kept delaying it because there were more urgent matters, but someone else must have found it in the meantime.’

In his past life, he had visited the Baron Silniac estate in his early thirties, a few years from now. Until then, no one had known the Messiah, the Sacred Radiance Sword was there. Neither Repenhardt nor Siris had ever revealed the sword’s origin, so there was no way someone like Teslon could have known about it. Repenhardt had never worried about someone else claiming the Messiah before he could.

‘Is this another case of the future twisting because of my regression? Maybe I should’ve prioritized finding the Messiah instead of other tasks.’

But he hadn’t had the luxury of doing so. Situations like the Crovence Civil War were events that unfolded at specific times, and he couldn’t afford to miss them. If he had delayed, he would have lost Yubel and failed to gain Karl.

The same held true when founding the Duchy of Antares. Until the duchy was fully established, he couldn’t recklessly leave its borders. Even when he had spare time, there were always more pressing matters. Reuniting with Attila or liberating slaves during the Zeppelin War of Emancipation were far more important than acquiring a single sword.

Though it was regrettable, Repenhardt made peace with the situation.

If he had clung solely to the bonds of his past life, the Duchy of Antares as it stood now wouldn’t exist. His choices had not been wrong.

Having resolved to alter the future, he needed to accept the changes that came with it.

‘There’ll be another chance later.’  

Judging by Christine’s personality, it seemed highly unlikely that she would ever give up on Sillan. In that case, Repenhardt figured he could simply reclaim the Messiah the next time they met and gift it back to Siris.

Still, the mystery of why the Messiah had surfaced in this time period lingered in his mind.

As he sorted his thoughts, Repenhardt muttered quietly to himself.

“...Did that burly woman just happen to visit the Baron Silniac estate by chance?”

“Huh?”  

Sillan tilted his head in confusion, catching Repenhardt’s mumbling.  

“According to Christine, she said the Sage of Silver gave it to her.”  

“Sage of Silver?”  

It was a name Repenhardt had never heard before.  

‘Could it be that the Silniac family is referred to as the Sage of Silver in this timeline?’  

However, thinking of the destitute, crumbling Silniac family he had encountered in his past life, the title seemed utterly unfitting.  

‘Wait… if the Messiah wasn’t obtained from the Baron Silniac estate, does that mean she just… received it?’  

The group of Teslon and his companions who had recently appeared all carried powerful artifacts, as if they had planned it together. From the circumstances, it seemed far more plausible that the Messiah shared the same origin as the other artifacts. The notion that they had all just happened to discover different artifacts at different locations simultaneously was absurd.  

‘And then there’s that Jade guy.’  

Repenhardt recalled the image of the silver emblem Jade had left behind.  

The Sage of Silver.  

A large number of artifacts.  

And Jade.  

All of it seemed interconnected. While he recognized that this could just be speculation due to the lack of information, his instincts told him otherwise.  

This was not something to be dismissed!  

‘I’ll need to start gathering information on this properly.’  

In the past, with urgent matters constantly piling up, he hadn’t had the luxury to dig into such things. But now, the situation was different.  

‘Karl will handle it well if I leave it to him. Ah, I’m so glad I kept him alive.’