Go All Out

Grot went flying backward.

The surrounding onlookers hurriedly moved aside and watched as he slammed heavily to the ground, passing out on the spot.

The fight was over.

Low murmurs rose from the crowd.

"North God Style?" Linus abruptly turned to look at Hilde.

"I've studied the North God Style, but that had nothing to do with this move. Against an opponent of that level, there was simply no need to draw my sword."

Hilde felt she had already been very cooperative. "Next."

"Is that so... Then Tantris, you're up."

"Okay."

Another boy walked out from the crowd.

He held a wooden sword, aiming it at Hilde with precise, textbook movements.

Hilde raised an eyebrow slightly.

The boy called Tantris was the one who had been sweeping at the dojo entrance when she arrived that morning.

She hadn't expected him to be an official student of the dojo too.

Hilde's impression of him was fairly good.

And...

Judging by those extremely standard movements, he probably wasn't third-rate trash like the last one.

So Hilde raised her wooden sword as well.

"Not doing it like just now? Or was that move actually just a bluff?"

Tantris didn't attack. Instead, he spoke in a flippant tone.

Hilde remained unmoved.

Paul had told her before.

The essence of Water God Style swordsmanship was "defense" and "counterattack," so it easily gave people an impression of being "steady" and "honest." In reality, however, Water God Style swordsmen were all quite cunning, and would use methods beyond swordsmanship to lure their enemies into attacking first.

Annoying verbal tactics like this were likewise required study for Water God Style swordsmen.

However...

That did not mean they could not be beaten.

After a brief moment of thought, Hilde stepped forward and attacked first.

Tantris immediately responded, but he soon realized that Hilde's offensive momentum was far more ferocious than he had imagined.

In an instant, sword strikes like a violent storm came crashing at him head-on.

Even though he had prepared himself, he was still beaten back until he could barely defend.

So fast!

So heavy...

Such power!

Bang—

In less than five exchanges, Tantris's wrist jolted violently.

The wooden sword he had been gripping tightly flew from his hand.

The next moment, Hilde's wooden sword was already pressed against his chest.

"The match is decided. Hilde wins."

Linus was slightly surprised.

Though Tantris's swordsmanship was only intermediate, he still shouldn't have been someone a child this age could beat.

And if he had seen correctly, what this child had just used was...

"Sword God Style?"

"I studied swordsmanship with my father for a while. I've dabbled in all three major styles," Hilde said.

"I see."

Linus nodded faintly, inwardly shaken.

At such a young age, she had trained the swordsmanship of all three styles to this level at the same time.

Was this what they called a genius...?

Perhaps Isolte was finally about to meet an opponent.

At the same time, Isolte, standing among the crowd, was also staring intently at Hilde with burning eyes.

Until now, she had never encountered an opponent among her peers and was considered to have the talent to inherit the name of Water God.

But in Hilde, she sensed that this child, even younger than herself, had talent that was in no way inferior to her own.

"I lost."

Tantris said nothing more.

He silently nodded in acknowledgment, then picked up his wooden sword and turned to leave.

"Next?" Hilde turned to look at Linus.

Linus subconsciously glanced at Isolte.

The original plan had been to first have the beginner and intermediate swordsmen test Hilde's level, and then finally have Isolte, an advanced swordsman, take her down a peg.

However, Hilde's strength was somewhat beyond his expectations.

The possibility was small.

But what if?

If even Isolte lost...

Isolte's sword training had always been overseen by Leda, the Water God. After all, she was someone with hopes of becoming the future Water God, and she had never lost to anyone her own age so far. If she suddenly lost to a child even younger than herself, it might affect her mindset...

While Linus was thinking that, Isolte had already stepped forward on her own.

"I'll take the next one. That's fine, right, Teacher Linus?" Isolte asked.

It was phrased as a question.

But from the look of her, even if he said no, she would force her way in.

Linus sighed and reluctantly nodded.

"Don't be careless."

"Does Teacher Linus think I'll lose?"

"If you're too careless, it's hard to say."

"Hmph..."

Isolte stood before Hilde.

Their eyes met. Both gripped the swords in their hands tightly, facing each other from a distance of two steps.

"..."

The arena fell into complete silence.

No one dared make the slightest sound. Even the air seemed to have frozen.

...So strong.

This child was not on the same level as the two from before.

Hilde slowly adjusted her breathing. She could feel pressure coming from Isolte.

"About yesterday's bread."

Hilde suddenly spoke, making everyone freeze for a moment.

"Thank you for the bread, but you may have misunderstood something."

"What?" Isolte replied calmly.

"I'm not so poor that I can't even afford bread. I just thought the prices in the royal capital were far too expensive."

"Mm. If you live here a few more years, you'll get used to it."

"Is that so? I hope I can stay here smoothly, then."

Their back-and-forth conversation made quite a few people present look at each other, unable to understand what they were doing.

Linus's expression remained steady. He knew this was also tactics.

Using conversation to create openings in the opponent's defense—momentary fluctuations in emotion and thought could become decisive factors in a duel between experts.

It looked like this child had not merely learned a few moves. The essence of the Water God Style...

She understood it very thoroughly, too.

Sure enough, he should still let her stay...

Just as Linus was thinking that, the conversation between Isolte and Hilde came to an abrupt stop.

Without warning, both of them moved at the same time.

"Clack, clack, clack—"

The wooden swords collided between them at extreme speed, producing sharp, crisp sounds.

The fight went straight into a fever pitch from the very beginning.

Slash!

Dodge!

Block!

Counterattack!

Feint!

Two figures kept shifting their footing within the limited space, the sound of sword striking sword ringing out without end.

The onlookers were instantly stunned.

So strong!

This person...

She was actually this strong?!

The thought surfaced in Hilde's and Isolte's minds at the same time.

In past battles, aside from when she fought monsters, Hilde had never used her full strength.

Because she had been born with divine strength.

Though she did not know why, her constitution was abnormal. Not only was she incredibly strong, she was also immune to illness and pain, and even falling from a height would not injure her.

That condition had continued to change as time passed.

So to avoid accidentally breaking the things around her, Hilde had always held back.

If she went all out, even Paul would find her attacks troublesome.

But Isolte had received every single one of her attacks.

In other words, this person's mastery of the Water God Style...

Was even above Paul's?

What Hilde did not know was that Isolte, facing her, was just as shocked.

She had clearly blocked every attack, every move and technique, but the force traveling through her wrist made it tremble uncontrollably. She even felt as if she could hardly keep hold of her sword.

Looking at that petite body, it was truly hard to imagine that such terrifying brute strength was hidden within it.

However, this was as far as it went.

Isolte slowly adjusted her breathing.

After the first few exchanges, she had already adapted to Hilde's rhythm.

The next instant, as their swords collided, a force like flowing water traveled along the blade to Hilde's wrist. Immediately after, that murmuring stream turned into a raging wave, as if it would drown everything.

Hilde's wrist trembled beyond her control, and she actually loosened her grip by reflex.

The wooden sword she had been clutching flew from her hand.

It spun into the air.

"Whoosh—"

The dislodged wooden sword had not even hit the ground

when Isolte's sword was already pressed against Hilde's throat.