The sixth prince, who had been executed in the kingdom after being betrayed by the trusted saint, was reincarnated and, in order to seek revenge, became engaged once again to the neighboring kingdom’s “Guillotine Princess.” As a result, he was adored and lived happily.

“Begin!”

At the signal from General Cyrus, I burst forward.

Glen wielded a claymore, a long and large sword that packed a devastating punch with each strike, making it one of the most powerful swords in its class.

However, its drawback was the wide reach, making it less maneuverable at close quarters.

On the other hand, I had a one-handed saber, a weapon focused on slashing attacks. It was more manageable, and if the opponent wasn’t clad in armor, the power of the weapon didn’t matter. The key was to get this blade to reach its target.

“You’re naive.”

“Huh!?”

Glen quickly stepped back, creating distance and crouching in a defensive stance as I charged forward. My intention was to disregard defense and strike with the claymore.

I abruptly stopped to maintain the right distance, observing his movements.

“…You’ve improved since the first time.”

“Thank you.”

Well then, my surprise attack right at the beginning had failed.

Glen would likely continue to wait for me to close the gap, as it was the most certain approach.

I also realized one more thing. In this match, this man had no intention of holding back.

Choosing the claymore as his weapon made sense. It was unwieldy and heavy, which could provide an excuse if he accidentally killed me. After all, if I died, our engagement would be automatically annulled, so it was a natural choice.

I knew that, but…

“Hmm…”

Without learning my lesson, I lunged at Glen once again.

From his ready defensive stance since the beginning, I must have looked like an easy target to this man.

“But…!”

If he could catch me with that long weapon of his…

Seizing the brief moment as I closed the distance, Glen swung his claymore horizontally, but I managed to evade it and stay out of its range. How about that? The recoil from the claymore is too heavy for him to recover quickly.

Taking advantage of this opening, I closed the distance again, kicked off the ground, and closed in… Huh!?

“Damn!”

“…You’re agile, darting around like that.”

Surprisingly, Glen used the handle of his claymore to intercept me at close range. I narrowly avoided it, but if it had connected, he might have slammed me into the ground, and the match would have been over right then and there.

Truly, he’s incredibly troublesome.

“Lord Gustave, have you run out of options?”

“Of course not. Don’t underestimate me with just this.”

I flashed a confident smile at Glen, but it was tough when even getting in close meant dealing with that handle…

In terms of reach and power, the claymore had the advantage, especially in such close quarters.

I cast a quick glance at General Cyrus, and he nodded slowly. It seemed he shared my thoughts.

There was no other optimal solution to defeat this man.

“Sigh…”

I exhaled deeply, shifted my weight onto my hind legs, and positioned my saber squarely in front of me.

“Heh… You really don’t get it.”

“What’s so funny?”

“You’re mimicking my stance, but in reality, I have the advantage in reach. I do admit your skills have improved significantly, but you’re not enough to defeat me.”

“…”

“From here on, it’s going to be completely one-sided!”

With his claymore shouldered, Glen leaped forward, heading straight for me.

“Ooooooh!”

He let out a roar.

I put my entire weight on my hind legs and focused on reading the trajectory of his sword.

“What?! What’s going on!?”

“It’s too early to be surprised.”

I intercepted Glen’s strike from the claymore with my saber and thrust the blade towards his neck. Perhaps realizing the danger, Glen hastily swung his sword, narrowly avoiding the edge of my saber, and retreated to create distance again.

“Why doesn’t your saber break when it takes a blow from my claymore…? And considering your physique, you should be knocked back by my attacks. But…”

The rigorous training with General Cyrus had paid off. Including our sparring sessions, where I continuously used a training sword that weighed five times as much as normal, my physical strength was likely greater than Glen’s. I realized that when I successfully intercepted his strike.

And this saber that General Cyrus had given me was unlike a regular forged saber. It was crafted by layering steel multiple times, combining the weight of an axe with the flexibility of a blade. With this saber, I could withstand even a blow from a claymore, as long as I didn’t take it head-on.

“Ugh! How…!”

“Lord Gray, haven’t you noticed, even when I was right beside you? Why General Cyrus is known as the Empire’s shield, ‘Impregnable’? Why he’s revered as a master of defense in combat?”

I calmly explained as I deflected and parried Glen’s increasingly desperate attacks. Yes, General Cyrus earned that title not because he excelled at defensive tactics but because he was a master of receiving all the enemy’s attacks in combat, parrying them, and seizing victory. And I was his most respected disciple.

“It’s overrrrrr!”

Unable to land a blow and growing frustrated, Glen raised his claymore high, pouring all his strength into a single strike.

But in this battle, there was no need for a strike powerful enough to shatter an opponent’s armor. All I needed was to finish the fight.

“Oh…”

Because of his impulsive swing, Glen’s body opened up, presenting his throat as a vulnerable target. I simply directed the tip of my saber there.

And with that…

“I win.”