abcnovels
Chapter 358
Chapter 358
Chapter 358
Katana Demonstration
“In any case, you should watch it being used first. And after testing both swords, you can decide which one you wish to train with. Nicholas.”
“Yes!”
So saying, Mr. Ekenhart called Nicholas.
Nicholas then came forward and unsheathed the swords on his hip.
One was about the same length as mine, and the other was shorter.
He was a dual wielder…
Apparently, he was going to face Nicholas in order for me to see the differences in fighting style between the two types of swords.
While I had seen such swords being used in period dramas, this was the first time seeing them in person.
“Now then… Remember that this is just a test.”
“I know. I’ll be careful so that he is not terribly injured.”
“I will fight as if this was practice, Your Grace.”
Mr. Ekenhart and Nicholas then faced each other and raised their weapons.
Sebastian then stood between them, and they took a few steps back.
Mr. Ekenhart held his katana straight in front of him.
It was the same way that he held his usual sword.
As for Nicholas, the blade in his right hand was held above his head, while the other shorter one was held in front of his stomach.
I suppose he was going to swing down with his right hand, and then slash with his left after the first attack was dodged or blocked?
Unless something unexpected happened, anyway.
But this was a demonstration, so they probably wouldn’t do anything too surprising.
“Now…begin!”
Sebastian shouted after moving away, and then Nicholas charged towards Mr. Ekenhart.
Mr. Ekenhart just held his sword and watched him calmly.
“!”
“Hah…mmph!”
“Ggg!”
“Stop!”
“….”
It ended in an instant.
Just as I had expected, Nicholas had swung down with his right hand. Mr. Ekenhart then swiftly moved back and dodged the attack.
Nicholas seemed to have expected him to move to the side or block it, and so he had to take a step forward in order to slash with his other blade.
As the blade in his left hand was shorter, the time it took for him to close the gap would be the deciding factor.
Just as Nicholas has started to move forward, Mr. Ekenhard started to swing upwards as he moved forward.
Now the gap had been bridged again, Mr. Ekenhart swung down over Nicholas, just as he tried to slash at him.
The blade hit hard into Nicholas’s left shoulder, but it was the blunt side of the blade. Still, it was enough to stop him.
Nicholas could not move due to the pain, and he fell to his knees as Sebastian stopped the fight.
Tilura and I were too surprised to say anything.
“Are you alright, Nicholas?”
“Yes. While there is pain, my bones are not broken.”
“I see. Well, Sebastian would have been very angry if I wounded you.”
Then Mr. Ekenhart offered a hand to Nicholas.
Nicholas accepted it as he got back to his feet. His face was a grimace because of the pain, but he confirmed that he could move his arm just fine.
It had all happened so fast, that I couldn’t see it clearly. But I suppose Mr. Ekenhart had turned the blade at the last moment.
Otherwise, Nicholas would have been gravely wounded…
“You still have a long way to go, Nicholas. While your strategy was good, you didn’t think about what to do if I dodged it.”
“…But no one else can move with that speed, Your Grace. Of course, there is still room for me to improve…”
“Well, Leo is actually much faster.”
“We should not be compared to a Silver Fenrir…this is about battles against humans…”
“Wuff?”
As he helped him up, Mr. Ekenhart told Nicholas what he had done wrong.
But as Nicholas said, there was likely no one else who could move at that speed.
It was not as if Nicholas’s movement had been slow. I had barely been able to follow him myself.
Even if he wasn’t good at gathering herbs, he knew how to wield a weapon.
Leo seemed to have heard her name come up in their conversation, as she was now looking at them questioningly.
It was just an example Leo, you don’t actually have to do anything, okay?
I glanced over to Liza and the others as well. Ms. Claire was her usual self, but Ms. Anne had a surprised expression.
I suppose it was because Ms. Claire had seen them fight before.
Liza was petting Leo’s neck, and did not seem very interested in the new swords.
“Well, there it is. That is how you use these blades, Mr. Takumi.”
“Um…I’m sure that was a wonderful example, but… I don’t really understand.”
“Neither do I!”
Mr. Ekenhart then turned to me and Tilura as if he had just given us a thorough lesson. But to be honest, I didn’t really learn anything.
I could not move at the same speed as them.
Not only was it over so suddenly, but it was clearly a battle between very skilled people. As beginners, it was not reasonable for us to understand everything after just that…