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Chapter 29

His bones reconnected just after shaking his arm.

“Damn it. That’s not right.”

It was probably their unique healing ability.

I knew that vampires could do something like that, but it was surprising when you saw it up close.

I didn’t know what this ability was called, but it was quite famous.

“My arm hasn’t been broken like that in a very long time. You really are full of surprises, Golan.”

“Thanks, I guess.”

There was no point in breaking bones if they could just heal.

Of course, if I kept breaking them, he might reach a limit eventually.

But it was more likely that I’d run out of mana before that happened.

Corps Commander Nehyor’s physical abilities were much like my toughness.

It all relied on mana. And so once that reserve dried up, you would not be able to do anything.

But he had at least five times as much of it as me. So I didn’t think there was any way for me to deplete his reserve first.

“So, what will you do next?”

He looked at me excitedly. But it wasn’t like I was performing magic tricks or anything.

These were serious techniques. I didn’t have an endless supply of them.

“I don’t know. Perhaps I’m all out.”

I knew now that there was no point in breaking his bones.

So, what could I do?

Maybe I could choke him, but I wasn’t convinced that that would work either.

“I’m sure you’re still hiding something?”

“Oh? What makes you think that?”

Indeed, I could feel it inside of me right now. He was shouting for me to let him out.

I thought I would be able to hide it. Was I wrong?

“This is not how you killed that Taiga. You would not have been able to kill it with such lukewarm attacks as these.”

I still had my strength left. But there was a more violent strength sleeping within. But that was a double-edged sword.

If we traded places, it would be a battle of power vs power. And if that happened, I would have no chance of winning.

If only I could use a weapon. That’s what I thought. I looked towards the wall, where it sat.

The Corps Commander looked to be in a bad mood. Perhaps he was convinced that I was holding back?

In that case, maybe there was still something I could do.

“Would you let me use my weapon over there? I brought it just in case.”

Normally, no one would oblige me.

Even an idiot would take it away.

“Huh. Well, now that is interesting. Go ahead.”

But the very powerful were very confident.

He didn’t mind if I became a little stronger than I was now.

And perhaps it was the right way to think. But I was hoping that it wouldn’t go well for him.

“Thank you…”

I picked it up and slowly removed the cloth.

As I did this, the Corps Commander watched silently without moving. It was as if he were watching the transformation of a hero.

I removed the wrappings without rushing. Then, I unraveled the string that was around it.

What came out was a sword. I had acquired it through special order.

I made the request a long time ago and only received it the day before the festival.

At first, I had felt that it would not do to bring such a thing when I was just going to negotiate with the Corps Commander, but had ended up bringing it just in case.

I held the handle and slowly unsheathed the blade.

“It’s beautiful.”

I couldn’t help but stare at it.

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    The rest of the chapter:

    “That’s a very thin sword. Is that your secret, Golan?”

    He did not look pleased. I suppose he was disappointed.

    I didn’t pay him any mind as I took in its beauty.

    “Hmm. It’s…just as I had ordered. A splendid job.”

    The pattern on the blade was like a Japanese sword.

    The Corps Commander didn’t know about its potential. What would happen when I held it.

    After all, I had trained in a dojo every day since I was a child.

    The master there was a bald man with intimidating eyes.

    And while he was thin, he was very strong when it came to judo.

    I remember that many students were not able to keep up with his strict lessons, and so people seemed to come and go constantly.

    “Listen. With kendo, footwork is important. Don’t rely on your upper body strength alone.”

    And so before lessons started, I had to go back and forth from one side of the room to the other and practice moving my footwork.

    Back then, I had no idea why I needed to repeat this so many times.

    If you didn’t understand the purpose of it, then your heart wouldn’t be in it.

    I just loosely tried to do what he said.

    “Don’t just move what’s below your knees. Use all of your legs!”

    We would line up side by side and race while sliding our feet. That was the only fun part.

    However, as everyone was doing the same thing, I didn’t understand why some were faster than others.

    It was just a small thing.

    He would get angry if my back wasn’t straight, and so I leaned back so it was slightly arched, and moved my legs as I always did. And then he hit the back of my legs with his bamboo sword.

    My legs pulled back as a reflex, and it finally hit me.

    When I looked at him, he was smiling.

    Pulling back with your feet in that position allowed you to move as if you were teleporting.

    I still can’t forget that feeling. It was like I had reached a higher step.

    “Now, let’s do this.”

    I had mastered this footwork. It was art. Do you understand why?

    I pointed my sword at his face.
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