Swordsmanship Family's Martial Arts Genius - Chapter 39

Ethan knew about Emilia’s past.

‘It would be stranger if I didn’t.’

Emilia was one of the characters connected to the protagonist.

The backstory was that Emilia, unable to forget her past wounds, was influenced by the protagonist’s character and healed her pain.

‘It’s nauseating.’

Ethan’s personality was far from such things.

Comfort? Healing?

Sure, he didn’t intend to criticize or belittle such efforts.

Ethan just wasn’t the type. He fundamentally preferred the stick over the carrot.

“Why, aren’t you used to the pain? That’s odd.”

“…What are you talking about?”

“No particular reason… You’ve suffered enough, haven’t you? Just curious why you’re acting so noble.”

Ethan spoke with a smirk. His voice wasn’t loud, so only Emilia could hear.

“Do you know about me?”

“Why wouldn’t I? Aren’t you called the ‘Snow Flower of the Academy’ or something?”

When Ethan grinned slyly, a killing intent flickered in Emilia’s eyes.

“I’ll kill you.”

The moment she drew her sword, an entirely different aura radiated from Emilia.

This was exactly what Ethan wanted.

Winning this duel was essential for what came next.

‘Of course, it makes things more interesting this way.’

Emilia charged like an arrow shot from a bow.

Ethan quickly dodged, but Emilia’s body rotated immediately.

Her swiftly moving sword came towards Ethan’s neck with deadly intent.

Chen, watching the scene, flinched. He recognized that Ethan’s life was in danger as it stood.

However, Ethan’s eyes showed no sign of panic.

He predicted the path, and it was clear where her sword was headed.

It was a simple matter of pushing his sword in.

Clang!

Of course, only Ethan’s strength could withstand it.

Ethan took a step forward, and the real power struggle began.

Crunch!

“I won’t fall for the same trick twice.”

Emilia’s eyes glowed, and the surrounding mana surged.

“Scary.”

Ethan revealed his teeth. He too could manipulate mana.

The issue was his lack of mana reserves.

But it didn’t mean his control over mana was lacking.

Because he concentrated mana on his strength, Ethan’s sword started to move towards Emilia.

Crunch!

Realizing she couldn’t win this way, Emilia frowned and stepped back.

If strength didn’t work, she thought, she’d switch to relentless strategy.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

Her attacks became incomparably faster.

Her swift assault seemed like it would shred Ethan’s body to pieces.

Thwack! Thwack!

Emilia bit her lip.

‘The flow is breaking.’

A swift offensive forced the enemy into defense, making the flow and momentum crucial.

But now her attack flow was being interrupted. The attacks weren’t connecting smoothly, and Ethan’s sword was disrupting their path continuously.

As a result, Emilia’s momentum dwindled, and at that moment…

Thud!

Ethan’s front kick hit her, bending her body in an L-shape.

Ethan laughed and followed up with another kick. Although she tried to retreat quickly, continuous blows to her abdomen rooted her feet.

Finally, Ethan aimed his sword at her and said,

“Don’t be scared.”

Ethan’s sword moved significantly slower. Emilia realized Ethan was intentionally slowing down.

Grit.

Striking a nerve, Emilia ground her teeth.

“…Are you mocking me?”

“Are you in a position to say ‘how dare you’?”

“You’ll regret this.”

Emilia gathered all her mana.

Ethan’s true nature became apparent.

Contrary to rumors, Ethan wasn’t an incompetent fool.

He was a beast hiding its fangs.

‘I will kill him.’

Ethan touched her reverse scale. Originally, she intended to humble him, but she changed her mind.

‘He can survive.’

The knights of Blante were glaring and watching closely. If she killed Ethan, those wolves wouldn’t let her go unscathed.

But Emilia had her own safeguards.

And more importantly, she was driven more by emotion than reason at that moment.

― This is dangerous.

‘No, it’s okay.’

Ethan laughed, satisfied with his provocation.

Emilia’s aura changed. Ethan glanced at Chen.

Chen’s face was stone-like.

Vincent wasn’t visible, but Ethan knew that he was watching somewhere.

“Let’s see how long you can keep laughing.”

Emilia moved. In an instant, she seemed to vanish.

Dodging it visually was impossible. It was now an issue of predicting.

Ethan ducked, and her sword brushed over his head. He countered with a swing from below.

Simple yet quick and deadly.

“Hmph!”

However, Emilia snorted and extended her sword. A bluish veil covered her blade.

Slash—

When Ethan saw his sword cut, his face showed surprise.

“No, this can’t be!”

“Your face is finally worth seeing. But it’s too late.”

Emilia extended her sword. Now, she could kill Ethan and escape…

“Did you expect this?”

Ethan, looking twisted and facing Chen’s direction, gave a meaningful look.

‘Stay calm. It’s about to get interesting.’

He grabbed Emilia’s extending sword with his left hand. Everyone was shocked.

Emilia’s sword glowed blue.

It signified that Emilia was a strong warrior just shy of becoming a master.

Yet, Ethan attempted to grab the sword barehanded.

‘Foolish.’

Mocking Ethan’s foolish choice, Emilia focused her strength on the sword.

Buzz!

Sparks flew. Not blood, but sparks.

A grinding noise came from Ethan’s hand.

He was channeling mana into his hand. Ethan hadn’t yet reached the stage of expelling mana.

But he could reinforce his bones and muscles to be tough and create explosive power.

‘Impressive performance.’

― Such recklessness…

Feon looked at Ethan in disbelief. Who would use such a glove like this?

‘I did say one more useful item.’

Ethan glanced at his necklace. He hadn’t learned its use but instinctively knew.

‘Disrupt!’

The necklace from the armory emitted a faint light.

The Necklace of the World Tree.

Although it had various effects, the most prominent was creating a mana shield.

‘It requires mana charging, though.’

Ethan deliberately didn’t infuse his mana.

With such a good source available, why use his own?

At the moment the mana was visualized and expressed as a sword, it became prime sustenance for the World Tree.

The balance of the standoff broke. Emilia wasn’t a master yet.

Handling mana was already challenging. Hence, being forcefully extracted left her insides in turmoil.

“Ugh!”

Emilia’s body stumbled. As the balance shifted, Ethan pulled her sword toward him.

Emilia staggered into Ethan’s arms.

“Now what?”

This was just the beginning.

Thud!

Ethan’s knee hit Emilia’s solar plexus.

“Ugh!”

Blood spewed from Emilia’s mouth, the impact so intense her body jolted.

‘Good willpower.’

Emilia tried to gain distance. It felt decisive.

But it wasn’t over for Emilia’s will.

Her movements weren’t as nimble, but she kept her legs moving.

Though Ethan didn’t intend to let her.

Whack!

Ethan’s foot struck her shin. Already damaged.

His front kick made Emilia stagger. Ethan moved into her space.

Thud! Thud! Thud-thud-thud!

A series of river-shots opened his punches. Ethan’s favorite punch combination.

Ending with an uppercut, her body fell.

In that instant, Ethan grabbed her silver hair and yanked.

Emilia helplessly dragged by.

The audience gasped at Ethan’s ruthless moves. Ignoring them, Ethan slammed Emilia into the ground.

Boom!

The dust swirled from the impact. Watching this, Morun’s face turned pale.

It brought back old traumas. But Ethan didn’t stop.

Emilia’s mental resilience was notable.

Despite her ruined face, her eyes remained sharp.

‘Could end it painlessly.’

Submissions like chokes could make her pass out without pain.

But Ethan didn’t prefer submissions.

Ethan climbed onto Emilia, his thighs pinning her ribs.

“Gahhh…”

Emilia groaned, as if her ribs would break from the pressure.

But without a chance to recover, another strike landed.

Ethan’s fist targeted her face.

Bang!

Blood splattered as his punch struck, Emilia’s eyes rolling back from the relentless assault.

As Ethan was about to continue his pounding…

Clink.

Chen’s sword stopped in front of Ethan. Only then did Ethan halt.

“That’s enough.”

At Chen’s intervention, Ethan smirked.

“You’re late. Would’ve killed someone.”

“…”

The trial ended.

***

The trial content was shocking.

Many did expect Ethan’s victory.

His unconventional actions and undefeated streak had been impressive.

Ethan’s victory over Morun created significant waves.

His reputation soared, and his standing elevated.

Blante began to pay attention to Ethan.

However, this trial was uncertain.

An academy professor.

The Blante family wasn’t isolated. Known across the continent, its influence was strong.

They knew the academy’s reputation.

A promising institution gathering talents from all countries.

A professor there would undoubtedly be exceptional.

Thus, many predicted Ethan’s defeat.

They thought he was being reckless.

Some worried he’d tarnish the Blante name.

But their predictions were off.

Ethan won.

The professor was skilled, nearly a master.

But against such prowess, Ethan displayed overwhelming power.

To the knights of Blante, it was highly stimulating.

His savage, unrestrained demeanor ignited a fire in their hearts.

“Impressive.”

“Nothing much.”

Ethan grinned, and Vincent sighed.

“It wasn’t a compliment. You were too harsh.”

“I couldn’t afford to hold back. My life was at stake too.”

“…Can’t argue with that. Sure, she was also aggressive. If you had been seriously hurt, the academy wouldn’t have been safe either.”

Vincent’s eyes turned cold. Watching from afar, he knew the latter part of the duel held killing intent from Emilia.

“The result is what matters.”

Ethan chuckled. Vincent shook his head. In fact, it wasn’t something to hold accountable. Vincent called Ethan for another reason.

“…What happened to your hand?”

Vincent looked at Ethan’s left hand.

Ethan’s hand was unharmed.