In the heavy atmosphere, John Drew gulped.
Now he knew. Why the guards posted near the gates of the estate and the mansion didn't show such a huge reaction to them.
Why they looked at Jet Frost like he was just another ordinary man.
'If they have seen so many Masters, then this is expected. Ah, no.'
It wasn't just that. From the moment he first set foot in the mansion, he was amazed.
Ilya Lindsay and Bratt Lloyd, who had recently reached Master level. They were both young…so young that they couldn't be called experienced adults.
Even Ian, one of the 3 great swordsmen on the continent, reached Master at the age of 25, so if one thought about it like that, then these two young people were even more talented than Ian.
'Even Masters have no choice but to look up to them… they are geniuses on a different level.'
Such great people were here in a lesser-known territory?
However, that wasn't the end.
There were far more amazing people than the young ones. John Drew's eyes moved.
He saw Joshua Lindsay, who was now facing Karakum, the great warrior of the Durkali tribe.
Seeing the two of the continent's strongest men facing each other... people whom no one would even try to spar with, John Drew felt so much pressure that he couldn't help but stop breathing.
"… maybe, we can have a good time today."
Jet Frost mumbled, speaking his mind. In the meantime, the two warriors were still glaring at each other.
Was there any incident between them in the past?
Orcs and humans respected each other, and it was even more so like that after the Holy Kingdom decided to take the lead within the continent.
And if he was one of the heads of the swordsmanship families or maybe the greatest warrior of the Orc tribe, then he would try to not indulge in issues.
But it wasn't like that now.
It was just one warrior versus another warrior.
A strong person versus another strong person. It was clear to even the onlookers that the two of them were engulfed in the strong desire to check each other's abilities.
No one moved.
They swung their weapons at the same time, and the sound of an explosion reverberated from the training hall.
Baaaang!
"Kuak!"
"Uh…"
John Drew and Kuvar let out a groan.
Although one was a swordsman, and the other was someone who read spirits in his own way, neither of them was strong enough to watch a battle of such intensity from a close range.
The two hurried back, and Jet Frost followed them.
Ilya Lindsay and Bratt Lloyd stopped their spar and watched the two warriors clash.
Swish! Swing! And Swing.
It wasn't a battle where one party wanted to win the fastest. It felt more like they were trying to break the other's weapon.
A barbaric and primal power struggle left the surroundings in ruins. The ground trembled at it.
The pace of the battle changed completely when Joshua Lindsay took a step back.
'The Lindsay head was pushed back!'
Jet Frost was visibly surprised.
This was the first time he had seen Joshua Lindsay in person. But he had heard a lot about him. It was said that the sword of Joshua Lindsay was like a storm that would devour everything.
On the other hand, a person who faced Joshua Lindsay usually felt blank and stuffy, as if they were just foolishly hitting the wind, and more often than not, they had no choice but to step back without realizing it.
But that didn't happen here.
What happened was the exact opposite, and at least for a moment, the orc warrior's violence and mercilessly pressed down the wind.
As if to prove it, Karakum's feet, which seemed to be nailed to the ground until then, moved forward.
Pung!
The air burst.
Bang!
The space around them exploded.
The intense attacks that followed, seemed to want to erase the opponent from the world. Each time the attack came, Joshua moved back like a frightened animal.
Joshua Lindsay kept retreating.
Looking straight at Joshua, who was driven to a corner so fast, Karakum grabbed the axe's handle strongly.
Woong!
Kwaaang!
A force that seemed like it could split the earth in half!
However, the attack was a failure. Although he was backed to a corner, Joshua still miraculously kept retreating. When Jet Frost and John Drew saw that, their eyes widened in shock.
There was no place to retreat, so they had thought that this was the end.
But that wasn't the case.
He was freely moving.
The Lord who flew up to the sky, embraced the art of heaviness and lightness at the same time, took the shock wave that came from the axe, and retreated gracefully.
And with that, the fight changed.
"Haaaaa!"
With a burning spirit, Joshua Lindsay swung his sword, and it wasn't just once.
He swung it so many times that one couldn't count it, and it was from a considerable distance too.
It couldn't exactly be seen.
But it could be felt.
Those relentless slashes which were aimed to strike at Karakum!
Karakum laughed out under the pressure as if he was facing the sky. He stomped his feet to the ground and adopted a lower posture.
For a moment, he took a deep breath and drew his force into his abdomen, and began to wield his axe.
Pung!
Pung!
Baaang!
"Kuak…!"
Continuous roars sounded out; each one made them feel like their ears would stop working. No, actually, maybe they had stopped.
Jet Frost protected his ears with aura and looked to the side to see John Drew and Kuvar cover their ears. The rest of his party had disappeared from the place entirely.
But not Bratt Lloyd.
And Ilya Lindsay seemed calm as well.
After looking at them for a moment, he looked at the fight.
"Ahhhh!"
Bang!
Slashes still kept pouring down, each containing powerful aura and strong winds.
The area where Karakum stood was soon carved out in a weird way.
As if only the stem of the apple was left untouched, the ground seemed to represent a similar situation.
No.
He wasn't in danger at all.
A powerful typhoon swept through as if it would blow away everything, but Karakum still looked stable.
Like a giant tree with its roots buried deep in the ground.
'Is it a battle of patience?'
Jet gulped.
Jet didn't know what Karakum had done. But he seemed perfectly fine. The firmness of being able to withstand such harsh winds for such a long time showed how strong he could be.
Joshua Lindsay was the same. He still seemed to have a lot of power that he could use.
The wind around him continued to grow stronger, showing no signs of reducing. It was a tense moment.
However, the fight didn't go as Jet Frost expected.
For a brief moment…a very brief moment, Joshua Lindsay's concentration was disturbed.
The momentum of Karakum, who had lowered his center of gravity and was standing there like an ancient tree, changed instantly.
From a tree rooted in the ground into a lump of iron. And a blazing flame that would sharpen that iron.
In an instant, the great warrior shot out into the air as if he wanted to tear apart the area.
Swish!
Bang!
Lord Lindsay responded swiftly.
He didn't panic at the sight of his opponent rushing at him through the wind. In an instant, he grabbed his sword with both hands and grunted his teeth as he moved the sword, and dozens of sounds exploded simultaneously.
With that, a tremendous shockwave spread out in a circle. Karakum, who was moving in a straight line, slightly twisted to the side.
But that was enough.
In that short time, Joshua was able to avoid being attacked, and moreover, he also counter-attacked the moment Karakum landed on the ground. Karakum stood there and just collected the energy of flame and iron, and accepted the energy of water.
Splash!
Even Lord Lindsay gently landed on the floor.
It was the moment when the two strong men once again gave out a strong energy in the messed-up training hall; a voice sounded out behind them.
"This is enough."
"…"
"…!"
Seeing the face of a new old man, Jet Frost had a blank expression.
John Drew went a step further with his reaction.
He was drooling with his mouth wide open, and he wasn't aware of it. However, this was expected.
The old man was the Krono Swordsmanship School's schoolmaster, Ian.
One of the three strongest people of the continent appeared here. They couldn't understand anymore if this was a dream or reality.
'Just how did he get here…!
"Greetings to the schoolmaster."
"... it has been long, schoolmaster."
"Huhu. Right. It has been really long. In particular. Great warrior, it seems like it has been around 50 years since I have last seen you. Still, I am happy. It is good to see your face like this before I die."
"…we will deal with that later. As you see, I have something else to do."
Saying that, Karakum raised his axe. And so did Joshua Lindsay. His hair was in disarray because of the battle, but his body was fine.
The ferociousness in his eyes wasn't directed towards Ian, but at the orc warrior. The two stared at each other, clearly wanting to fight again.
However, that wasn't possible.
Srng!
Ian intervened, and as soon as he drew out his sword, the two of them felt a greater pressure on their bodies, making them step back.
"That is enough."
"…."
"There is no right reason for you to fight, right? If this continues, the entire estate will be destroyed."
"It is already broken, so do they really need to stop?"1
"…!"
"…!"
"…!"
This time, it wasn't just John Drew and Jet Frost who were surprised.
Bratt, Ilya, Kuvar, and even Karakum and lord Lindsay who were the ones fighting, seemed startled.
It was Khun who had spoken.
Another one of the strongest people on the continent. He was someone who wielded the fastest sword, and that great person had also appeared in the Pareira mansion.
'I don't know. I don't know anymore.'
John Drew shook his head.
He didn't have the energy to be shocked or speak anymore.
His head wasn't working fine anymore, so he gave up thinking about it.
It seemed like it wouldn't be strange if anyone else came out either, and no matter what the circumstances were, he couldn't be more shocked.
He just seemed slightly lost and looked at the center of the gymnasium.
Whether John Drew cared or not, things were getting more intense.
Ian was trying to stop the fight.
Then Khun appeared and stopped Ian from stopping the fight.
The conversation between the two was quiet, but in the blink of an eye, it turned intense. There weren't any harsh words exchanged, but anyone could tell.
Just a little, a small amount of stimulation and…
There could be a more intense battle than the fight between Joshua and Karakum that had just ended.
'Should I support or not…'
Jet Frost thought, unable to reach a conclusion.
Honestly, he wanted to see it.
He was so moved by the previous fight alone that he couldn't even properly express his emotions.
A battle between the ones in the top 10 of the continent. Wasn't it something even the richest people couldn't see?
However, even then, the fight between Ian and Khun might not be visible.
'Being able to watch their fight closely is a different matter…'
Besides, there was a problem.
The training hall was shattered, and if the two collided, the mansion could be ruined too.
And that didn't seem like a good thing. It didn't matter what he thought; he didn't have the power to stop them.
'No, not just me… neither Karakum nor Lord Lindsay can stop them. Maybe…'
Even those.
Joshua glanced at Ilya and Bratt, who were standing there.
Right. There was no need to worry. If he didn't have the ability to lead the situation, he could just go with the flow.
Jet, who somehow came to the same conclusion as that of John Drew's, turned to Ian and Khun. No, he was trying to.
However, he didn't.
There was someone walking towards them quietly from afar.
He had warm blonde hair and a soft smile as if it was embracing the sun.
And even compared to anyone here, there didn't seem to be a lack of firmness.
Airn Pareira, who had appeared, said,
"I apologize, but can we end the talks here?"
"…"
"…"
Everyone looked at him.
Jet, Kuvar, John, Bratt, and Ilya, who weren't the main characters of the fight, as well as Joshua and Karakum, who were still giving out pressure because the excitement in their bodies didn't subside, looked towards Airn.
It was the same with Ian and Khun.
In particular, Khun didn't seem to like what Airn had said, seeing his uncooperative expression, which clearly screamed he wanted to see the entire place shattered.
"Hm…"
Airn put on a puzzled expression.
And with a firm and calm atmosphere like when he first appeared, making eye contact with everyone around, he said,
"I might not be the Lord, but I am the Lord's son…"
"…"
"…"
"I would like for you to listen."
His words were spoken in a soft tone.
However, the power in his words wasn't lacking.
And the result of those words was very surprising.
Joshua Lindsay coughed and checked his daughter's expression.
The great warrior Karakum put down his weapon while calming his excitement, and looked at Airn.
Ian smiled and sheathed his sword, and Khun just followed.
At the peace which had finally arrived, John Drew, who was quietly observing the situation, thought.
'I'm afraid… it looks like…'
His eyes were full of envy.