Chapter 10: Knowlegde To Win
The second duel, which no one but Abercio expected, begins with the accompaniment of all kinds of feelings.
Altezza looked a little scared, but because he had been training for a long time, his stance was quite stable. In comparison, Abercio held his sword on his shoulder carelessly. Maybe because of the wound.
"What's the matter with you, Altezza? Why don't you come to me? Did you really expect this injured brother of yours to make the first attack? I didn't know you were that pathetic," Abercio chuckled lightly to provoke Altezza, but Altezza only fixed his grip and didn't rush to attack.
The young man seemed to be trying to calm himself. Even though he was really scared.
'Relax, Altezza. This situation is favorable for me now,' Altezza thought.
It wouldn't even be strange for Abercio to faint at this point with such a severe injury. Compared to Abercio who was covered in bloody bandages all over, there wasn't a single injury to Altezza, and he was in excellent, fresh, and prime condition. Of course, even though Abercio' skill was unexpected by everyone, still… the situation was still in Altezza's favor. It seems so, in everyone's eyes.
Unlike Abercio who has been ostracized from all kinds of things, Altezza has gone through various types of training and good education, even very good thanks to the support of his father and mother. But why did his hand that was holding the sword feel a little shaking?
"Are you really not going to come to me, Altezza?" asked Abercio who was annoyed to see Altezza not attack. His cowardly stepbrother started to annoy him.
"Okay, okay. This dearest brother of yours will take the first step since this little brother of mine seems to be still hesitating."
Whoosh!
Abercio swung his body forward. His entire body, from the tips of his feet, slightly trembled as he moved. Granted, his injuries affected him, but the way he moved toward Altezza was sharp and without hesitation.
"Ugh!"
Altezza raised her sword to block Abercio' attack.
'It has less power than I expected,' thought Altezza who felt the power of Abercio' attack wasn't as intense as he imagined earlier.
With the many wounds on Abercio's body, it seemed to have affected his fighting power. And because of that, Altezza felt a bit excited and thought he had hope to indeed.
'I can win!'
But the moment Altezza recovered his confidence and raised his sword to strike—
CLANGGG!!!
"Ugh!" groaned Altezza who barely managed to block Abercio. As if he was a leaf flying in the wind, Abercio landed another swift attack on Altezza, again.
Altezza took a moment to compose herself. But, right above him, Abercio' attacks poured down like a rainstorm that fell to the earth, relentlessly and didn't let Altezza get the slightest pause.
'He.. his attack is different from before!' Altezza gasped. Fear attacked him again, his confidence evaporated in an instant.
Each of Abercio' attacks was light, but all of them were carried out as fast as lightning. His current style was completely different from when he had fought Vino before.
"His attacks are completely different from before!" shouted the people, one of them Philip the butler.
Philip couldn't help but express his surprise. No matter what others thought, he wanted the best person to succeed as the Marquess. Abercio' unexpected talent was a miscalculation in his favor because all this time he had quite hoped for Abercio who was the eldest son as well as the son of the Mistress he served from the start.
"Is this an easy thing for a child of Young Master Abercio' age to do, sir Vivaldi?" asked Philip.
"Of course not."
Even while answering, Vivaldi felt bad.
'Young Master Abercio is even more talented than everyone thought so far,' thought Vivaldi.
Changing attack methods and techniques is not easy, because so far usually the Knights have focused more on one type of attack so that they are maximized rather than learning many types but not optimally. Also, even if one was able to learn some kind of attack method, it wasn't that easy to use it directly in battle. Because experience also matters, but doesn't Abercio have almost no experience at all compared to anyone else here? Especially Altezza, who had been learning the sword for a long time.
While considering the feelings of the Marquess and Marchioness, Vivaldi carefully continued his reply to Philip, "Young Master Abercio might have changed his fighting style due to his injuries. Since the wound would widen even with the power of their swords clashing, he used as much attack power as he could in a short amount of time. It looks like Young Master is also reflecting some of the attack power from the opponent back to his opponent. Just look at him now."
Reasonable explanation. Indeed, Abercio might change his fighting style to be sharper, faster, and stronger because he didn't want to waste time.
From what Abercio had shown them so far, at least in terms of fighting prowess, his abilities showed that he was the most talented person in history. The reason was, after awakening Mana in a short time, Abercio could immediately use high-level skills, turning the duel into a life-and-death battle without hesitation, and putting Vino the Young Knight who was considered the most talented in the Knight Order into a corner. And right after that, he continued to challenge Altezza and maintained the lead even with that pretty severe injury.
'And it's not just the basic skills. Earlier he had cleverly taken advantage of Vino's lack of experience in real combat and shook him psychologically to increase his chances of winning. He really understands how to win,' continued Vivaldi in his mind.
And this "knowledge to win" was an absolute necessity for the Bronka family who always needed to protect themselves from royal intruders.
'I thought Young Master Altezza was good enough to be the next Marquess, but…'
Vivaldi stole a sneaky glance at the Marquess and Marchioness whose facial expressions had completely changed from the relaxed ones.
'Their expressions look tense.'
'With Young Master Altezza's skills, he will make a good Marquess. However, if Young Master Abercio becomes the Marquess… He will become an extraordinary Marquess.'
Vivaldi's thoughts like that were not without foundation. He believes there are still many abilities of Abercio that have not been shown at this time.
His skill, courage, and intelligence. For Vivaldi who was a Knight for a long time, he couldn't help but admire Abercio' many talents, especially his fighting prowess. Similarly, there were probably many people who also felt Vivaldi's feelings right now. Because Abercio is simply too awesome.
Vivaldi began to lean towards Abercio' side and tried to observe the young man a little longer.
'Young Master Abercio' ability to plan his attacks is amazing.' Philip watched Abercio push Altezza back with his heavily injured body, which meant that the dying body alone was capable of surpassing Altezza. What if Abercio was in full prime? Philip could already imagine what Altezza would become and the end of their fight would surely make Altezza scorn for life in this region.
'With Lord Abercio' abilities, I think he must be able to push Young Master Altezza back slowly but surely from the succession. However, this process would be very long, and many unforeseen situations could arise because I'm sure the Marquess, Marchioness, as well as Lord Altezza, will use many cunning tactics to prevent Lord Abercio from succeeding. However, with this duel, with Young Master Abercio being able to show his skills to everyone in Bronka, and I'm also sure that this will shake a lot of people and start admiring as well as questioning why Young Master Abercio's name seems to be deliberately vilified,' thought Philip. He is a quick thinker and wise.
Even Vivaldi, who was standing beside him, was a vivid example of this. Even though he tried to restrain himself out of fear of the Marquess and Marchioness, but Vivaldi still couldn't hide the awe in his eyes as he watched Abercio fight. Obviously, many people are now starting to change their views on Abercio. What was rumored to be cowardly, weak, trashy, and useless, was in fact the opposite. Even more powerful than a genius knight and also his half-sister who had been hailed as great.
Even though Philip believed Abercio would win this duel, and Altezza would end up as the loser, Philip still thought about the worst. If things were to turn around...
'Even if Lord Abercio lost this battle, no one would think he really lost. He was able to defeat the youngest genius Knight in Knight Order group Two, Vino, and even with serious injuries, he immediately returned to fight for the second duel after. Even though they were dueling for succession, it was informal after all. And people would surely admire Young Master Abercio even more who bravely fought despite his injuries to give his younger brother an advantage. It's clear, whether you lose or win, Young Master Abercio remains a side who is admired and considered a victor today by those who see him.'
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
imyoursbabe
imyoursbabe Sorry for the typo in the previous name.