Not a barbarian warrior.

Eugene placed his sword in the center of his body, with its tip pointing towards his opponent’s face.

In contrast, Marlon’s sword was the exact opposite of Eugene’s. He placed the sword in the center of his body similarly, but lowered the tip of the sword so much that it almost touched the ground.

Eugene thought such a stance was very strange. He had seen many people using swords before, but had never seen anyone take a stance similar to Marlon’s.

Although Eugene had never formally learned swordsmanship from anyone, he thought Marlon’s stance wasn’t particularly good.

Common sense dictated that the speed of raising a sword from below couldn’t be faster than the opposite.

Marlon’s stance, which fully exposed his upper body, seemed full of openings no matter how Eugene looked at it.

Eugene attacked without much hesitation.

He stepped forward to close the distance, raised his sword above his head, and swung down strongly.

It was the moment Eugene’s sword was swinging down quickly towards his opponent’s head.

Marlon’s body suddenly sank, and something shot up from the ground towards Eugene like a beam of light.

“…!”

Eugene couldn’t stop his body from leaning forward. The only thing he could do was concentrate all his nerves to twist his neck to the side.

There was a “swish!” sound where Marlon’s sword grazed past.

A red line was drawn on the side of Eugene’s neck.

Only then could Eugene understand what Marlon had done.

He had moved one beat faster, crouching his body and raising the tip of his sword to stab at Eugene’s neck.

That wasn’t the end of it.

Marlon’s sword, which had extended long past Eugene’s neck, turned to try and slice his throat with the edge.

Eugene, greatly startled, retrieved his extended sword to deflect Marlon’s. Not satisfied with just that, Eugene threw his body to the side and rolled once.

Eugene quickly stood up and raised his sword. He tensed up, widening his eyes in preparation for the incoming offensive, but Marlon was just keeping his position.

He had willingly let Eugene go without continuing the offensive he had seized.

“Huh… Amazing reflexes. To think you dodged that. I was sure you were dead the moment the sword went in.”

“…”

Although they had only crossed swords once, the expressions of the two were greatly contrasted.

Marlon had a very relaxed face, while Eugene frowned and glared at Marlon.

Red droplets formed on the line drawn on Eugene’s neck and flowed down.

“What a pity. If it had gone just a bit deeper, I would have cut your artery.”

“…Have you formally learned swordsmanship from someone?”

“Well, that’s all in the past. I dreamed of becoming a knight when I was young and naive. That sword just now was a small fragment left by my past self.”

“Don’t tell me… you were a squire?”

At Eugene’s question, Marlon chuckled and shook his head.

“I didn’t even become a page. I was just one of the many apprentices under Sir Silas.”

“I see…”

“Well, you should have caught your breath by now? Let’s slowly start again.”

“…!”

Marlon’s eyes changed in an instant. The eyes glaring at Eugene were reminiscent of a predator facing its prey.

Eugene tried not to lose sight of Marlon’s sword. He judged that he shouldn’t move carelessly as long as the other had far superior skills than himself.

Unlike before, this time Marlon rushed in first. Eugene raised his sword to defend against the incoming attack.

The swords clashed, creating small sparks in succession.

Marlon’s sword was extremely fast. It aimed for the openings created each time Eugene barely blocked his attacks.

He attacked Eugene in various ways.

Sometimes what looked like a full-force strike was actually a feint, and sometimes a sword that Eugene thought he had blocked would slide along his sword and penetrate inwards.

After dozens of exchanges of offense and defense, Marlon paused his attack for a moment.

Taking advantage of this gap, Eugene widened the distance between them and breathed heavily.

“Huff… huff…”

Eugene’s chest rose and fell greatly.

The consumption of mental energy was too great, as death had flickered before his eyes and disappeared repeatedly at every moment the swords crossed.

The reason Eugene had managed to stay alive so far was because he had somehow maintained a constant distance from Marlon. Thanks to this, he was able to avoid allowing any fatal blows.

Instead, his arms and legs were in tatters. If it weren’t for the gauntlets and boots made of tough leather, his arms would have been cut off long ago.

During the brief standoff, Marlon spoke to Eugene as if bored:

“Are you going to keep running away? Do all warriors from the North fight like cowards?”

“Huff… huff… I’m not from the northern continent.”

“Ah, you said you weren’t a barbarian warrior? Now I’m starting to think it’s a bit strange. Your appearance is exactly like a barbarian from the North, but your actions are… completely different.”

“I’ve told you, several times, that I’m not. Huff…”

Eugene responded to Marlon’s words while catching his breath. At the same time, he desperately racked his brains about what to do next.

‘Should I run away now? No. He won’t let me go easily after losing two companions.’

The option of running away was rejected. Then the only thing left was to fight.

‘How do I beat him? I’m no match with swords. There’s a limit to just defending while keeping distance like this. My gauntlets and boots have long since become rags. Damn it… what should I do…’

Suddenly, one method came to his mind.

It was dangerous enough that he could lose his head in an instant if he made a mistake, but it was worth trying.

No, there was nothing else that came to mind anyway. This had to be done even if it meant death.

A faint glow flashed in Eugene’s eyes. Seeing this, Marlon’s face brightened.

“Looks like you’ve found a way? Good, anything but running away is fine.”

Eugene raised his sword again, which he had been lowering.

He had never properly learned swordsmanship. He only had a few movements he had stolen with his eyes when he had a chance by coincidence. His swordsmanship was patched together by adding imagination as flesh to those movements. It was so crude that it was embarrassing to even call it swordsmanship.

However, Eugene was satisfied with that much. He thought it was enough to catch monsters and beasts. If something couldn’t be done with a sword, it could be solved in other ways. That was why he carried things like paralyzing poison, throwing knives, and crossbows.

But now, Eugene regretted that thought. Although he thought he didn’t need skills for killing people like Marlon, he should have learned them at least for self-defense.

In this crisis, all he could rely on was just one sword and this body that resembled a barbarian.

Eugene thought with a self-deprecating smile:

‘If I survive this, I should learn swordsmanship. If only I survive…’

As Marlon took his stance, Eugene raised his sword and rushed in.

When Eugene tried to enter his range without hesitation, Marlon tried to respond to that movement.

And at that moment, Eugene shouted while exhaling the breath he had taken in deeply:

“Come at me-!”

“…!”

A voice filled with thick killing intent echoed like thunder. Marlon’s muscles momentarily shrank as he faced it head-on.

In that brief gap, Eugene’s sword swung down towards Marlon’s head. Moving half a beat late, Marlon defended against his attack in great alarm.

‘This son of a bitch! What the hell is your true identity…!’

Eugene, who had gained the offensive for the first time, swung his sword repeatedly.

Marlon, who had been put on the defensive, soon calmly defended against Eugene’s sword.

The loud sound of metal clashing rang out repeatedly, and sparks flew into the air.

After the swords collided five times like this, Marlon felt something was strange.

After the swords clashed two more times, Marlon realized what that strangeness was.

Eugene was constantly taking large steps, closing the distance with the retreating Marlon.

“You…!”

“Got you.”

Eugene took one more big step and dug into Marlon’s embrace.

When they got so close that their crossguards touched, neither of them could swing their swords.

‘Alright, you want to go for a grapple? I’ll make you regret it…!’

During his apprentice days, swordsmanship wasn’t all that Marlon had learned. There was also a way to subdue an opponent when the sword couldn’t be used at such close range.

He inserted his sword arm inside Eugene’s elbow and entangled it. Eugene seemed to not understand what this meant, or he allowed it to happen willingly.

Confirming that the technique, which would be impossible to counter if one didn’t know how to respond, had been properly applied, Marlon inwardly felt relieved and rotated his body.

He intended to forcibly shake Eugene’s center of gravity, knock him to the ground, and then stab him with his sword.

‘You fool.’

It was the moment when Marlon turned his body, certain of victory. With a feeling as if moving a huge rock, his body wouldn’t move.

Marlon, stopped in the middle of applying his technique, turned his head. He had a very perplexed expression.

“You, you crazy bastard… Don’t tell me, you’re resisting this with pure strength?”

Eugene’s arm, with clenched teeth, was drenched in blood. Blood that had rushed to his muscles was flowing out of his wounds.

“Why not.”

Eugene unhesitatingly let go of the sword he had been holding with both hands and grabbed Marlon’s collar.

Without any technique, he simply exploded with strength and threw Marlon over his shoulder, slamming him down.

“Urgh..!”

As Marlon flew through the air and hit the ground, he felt the air in his lungs instantly escape.

Due to the tremendous impact, he even lost grip of the sword he had been holding.

Eugene immediately mounted Marlon, who had sprawled on the ground. Then he swung his fists mercilessly.

Thud-! Thud! Thwack!

Skin split and yellow teeth fell from his mouth. It was an instant before the bones in his nose and cheekbones shattered and caved in.

Even after that, Eugene continued to drive his fists down for a long time. Until he was certain that Marlon had lost consciousness.

At some point, Marlon stopped showing any reaction. Yet Eugene didn’t stop punching.

It was because the instinct yearning for survival clouded his rational judgment.

Eugene, who had been panting while swinging his fists for a long time like that, belatedly realized. Marlon was not breathing.

Feeling as if his vision, which had been tinted red, was returning to normal, Eugene got off Marlon and slumped down.

“Huff… huff… I, I survived…”

Rather than being confused by the fact that he had beaten a person to death with his bare hands, Eugene focused on the fact that he had survived for now.

Rejoicing in the fact that he was alive and breathing, he lay down as if collapsing.