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Successfully burrowing into Karamaf’s embrace, Johan swung his longsword with all his might. The longsword screamed as it was about to shatter, emitting its death throes.
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‘𝘋𝘪𝘥 𝘐 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦?’
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Despite his success in burrowing in, such a thought crossed Johan’s mind.
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The longsword wasn’t a weapon that could cut through anything. Its cutting power greatly diminished in front of armor, especially if the opponent was wrapped in full plate armor.
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Johan was doing the opposite of what he had learned.
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However. . .
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Strangely, he felt a confidence that he could do it. It sounded crazy, but the moment he saw Karamaf, he had an intuition that he could dive in and cut through. It was like having the confidence to cut a rock with a twig. It was not something he could explain to others.
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𝐒𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐞𝐳𝐢𝐧𝐠━
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Johan’s arms swelled further, displaying tremendous strength. It was a strength Johan himself couldn’t have imagined. Unknown to him, he had hardly ever used his full strength. There had been no need to exert himself fully before.
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The moment he exerted his full strength, the longsword, weighing at most 1~2kg, transformed into a giant’s greatsword.
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And with a loud crash, everything in front was shattered. Blood splattered. Karamaf’s armor was ripped apart, and his torso was nearly severed.
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“Gah!”
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A scream flowed from inside the helmet. Karamaf seemed more shocked by this unbelievable situation than the pain. Due to the shock and pain, Karamaf couldn’t properly bring down his raised arm. He missed his chance for a counterattack.
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Johan raised his fist like a lion. He felt that the longsword he was holding had shattered. The blade was split, and the crossguard crumbled under Johan’s strength. It was regrettable, but it didn’t matter. Johan thanked his faithful friend, the sword, for its service and swung his fist.
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With a dull sound, blood splattered from Johan’s fist, and Karamaf’s head snapped back. It was natural for his fist to be injured, having struck a metal mass with full force.
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However, such an attack was enough for the wounded Karamaf. He dropped his weapon and fell backwards. Johan quickly climbed on top of Karamaf. To a swordsman, martial arts were as important as swordsmanship. Honestly, Johan was more confident in grappling or martial arts than in swordsmanship. He had trained to the bone in them even before coming to this world.
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Johan grabbed Karamaf’s helmet with both hands and exerted strength. With an unbelievable sound, the helmet made of unknown metal tore apart.
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Then, a cold-faced elf was revealed. Handsome but bloodied, he glared fiercely. Karamaf spat out blood and growled.
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“Did Gessen. . . give birth to a monster. . .!”
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“You’re one to talk, coming into someone’s fiefdom, killing, and burning everything.”
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“How on earth did the ancient Empire’s arm. . .”
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“Enough, die, elf!”
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Johan had no intention of talking to Karamaf for long. His fist struck down on Karamaf’s face. Even a great knight like Karamaf couldn’t withstand such an attack in an unprotected state.
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Karamaf, counted among the finest knights of the Holy Empire.
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It was a disappointingly anti-climactic end for such a knight.
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𝐓𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐩! 𝐓𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐩!
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As if to confirm the kill, Johan repeatedly pounded Karamaf’s face. The head was smashed beyond recognition.
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“Phew. . .”
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Only after cutting off the opponent’s breath could Johan finally take a breath. Then the muscle pain and fatigue rushed in. It was due to exerting full strength. The fight had ended quickly, but the burden Johan felt was no joke. He had plunged in, keeping every nerve in his body sharply focused.
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“. . .What do I do now?”
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Johan looked down at what was once Karamaf, muttering to himself.
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He hadn’t realized during the fight, but after it, he felt a great sense of loss. Karamaf’s plate armor was ruined, with a shattered breastplate and a torn helmet. It was certainly unwearable now.
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‘𝘕𝘰. . . 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘸𝘢𝘺.’
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The plate armor was obviously associated with its owner. If Johan wore it or tried to sell it, he would likely face serious trouble.
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So, what to do?
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‘𝘐 𝘨𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘐’𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳.’
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If he disposed of the body in a corner of this forest, nobody would know Karamaf’s whereabouts. Who would suspect that Karamaf had been killed by Johan? There might be some commotion for a while, but it would settle down if they couldn’t find him.
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Then, no one would be pursuing Johan. The Aitz family was already finished; who would continue chasing after one son?
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Here in the Empire, the organization and administrative power were not particularly strong. Even the Emperor was more like a powerful feudal lord with special privileges than a true emperor. He had little power over those not directly under him. There was neither the capability nor the reason to continue chasing any possible survivors of the Aitz family.
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‘𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘥. . . 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘴?’
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Johan spat and ground his teeth against the Emperor he had never met. It was hard to fully understand from what he had heard. But he could guess that the Aitz family had been unfortunately framed for something.
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Sir Gessen had been seeking other nobles to make feudal contracts. He would fight when needed and, in return, receive land or money. A knight’s feudal contract was similar to a mercenary agreement.
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It might have been better to gain a few more lords and rise in status than to manage a hopeless fiefdom. There was no rule that feudal contracts had to be one-to-one. If capable, serving multiple lords was possible.
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Had that angered the Emperor?
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He neither knew nor needed to know. After all, Johan was now planning to flee, abandoning the name of the Aitz family.
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Johan began to dig. He was burying Karamaf.
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━𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐥.
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“. . .You again?”
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Johan turned his head with a weary look.
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There was the black wolf.