Chapter 20 — On the Strengths of Remie

On the subject of group-based duels, it was worth noting that a particular rule decreed that each match was allocated twenty minutes. If neither party received a warning and the match could not be decisively ended, it would then be extended for another ten minutes. If the match still could not be concluded at that point in time, the outcome would be declared a draw.

Although the northern dormitory had originally aimed for three wins, a single draw would also serve a similar purpose, given their current score. If both dormitories had similar scores, the general’s win is used to decide which party ultimately wins.

Although Kerio’s opponent made several clear attempts to swing at him, Remie never did exploit or follow-up on any openings shown.

It was the same as giving up on victory. Remie himself, however, seemed fine with the idea — in fact, he was still continuing the battle, a calm expression on his face.

The reason was obvious.

As their swords continued to grind against each other, the two squires stared at each other.

“I see. You realize that you can’t win, so you want to make this a draw instead... A rational strategy.”

To begin with, Kerio specialized in counter tactics. If his opponent was in the fight to win, he would have benefited from this to a certain extent. Under normal circumstances, his opponent, having put a considerable amount of force into his strike, would not have much room left for defense.

However, with Remie pretending to attack while mainly focusing on defense, things were not quite as simple.

“I’ll say that you are too naïve, though!” Kerio struck out at Remie with a fast side sweep.

Remie moved promptly, but barely managed to block his attack.

“It’s true that I am the most skilled at counters, but don’t think that I have issues attacking first!”

Kerio unleashed a vicious rush of attacks unto Remie, who defended against them as if his life depended upon it.

“Blame yourself for being foolish, thinking that you can force a draw by just focusing on defense!”

Kerio moved to seal Remie’s movements. Even if he was unable to use his counter tactics, he would not lose to such an opponent.

Even if he could not catch up with Rigel and the others right now, he would catch up with them sooner or later — such was his pride.

However, even with such intentions, Kerio found the match being slowly drawn out.

(Ugh... He’s tough! It’s difficult to hit him, too... All because of those long steps of his... The distance between us keeps shifting!)

Although it seemed for a moment that Kerio had Remie in a disadvantageous spot, he could not land a decisive blow on his opponent. Just when it seemed like he could get his opponent with the next blow, Remie stepped away with a long movement, preventing Kerio from pressing the attack.

Kerio himself was by no means weak or slow — he was a strong contender, having proven himself in tournaments before. However, there wasn’t much of a gap between his speed and that of Remie’s.

Although Kerio took rapid, short steps in attempts to keep his opponent within range, Remie’s continued evasive steps made him a more difficult opponent than Kerio had imagined.

More than anything else, however, Kerio underestimated the strength of Remie’s defensive tactics.

Although Remie was supposed to have been some no-name contestant he could have easily stepped over, he was somehow managing to block all of Kerio’s blows.

The moment he stopped swinging, Remie would step inwards with a savage attack of his own, with Kerio promptly blocking the blow.

(Kuh... Again!)

Remie’s attacks came without warning, aiming for the gaps between Kerio’s attacks, without allowing for the latter to move into a counter stance.

Remie’s blows, however, were not swung with victory in mind. As such, it was not difficult to defend against them.

However, this stalemate was one Kerio also faced, with Remie immediately going back on the defensive after his attack — with said attack being nothing more than a formality he showed to the referee.

It became evident that Remie had not just come up with this plan of action on the spot — if anything, it was premeditated and properly planned.

It was at this point that Kerio finally noticed the loud boasts coming from the stands housing the squires of the northern dormitory.

“We practiced with Remie for all that time! Even against Kerio, he wouldn’t go down that easily!”

“Man, it was tough. We really went at it hard, two minutes per person!”

“Well, that was probably harder on Remie, wasn’t it?”

Each of voices belonged to squires who were much weaker than Kerio.

However, they were the very same squires who participated in that specifically planned training program with Remie — one which saw the squires attack Remie at several times their normal power and speed for two minutes. With a rotating roster of ten squires, Remie trained against them with all his being, all in preparation for the eventual showdown with a stronger opponent — one such as Kerio.

As a result, in that short frame of time, Remie’s defensive capabilities skyrocketed.

His sudden attacks that allowed him to strike while defending were also polished during this time. To recreate a blow from someone like Kerio, the squires involved had to attack Remie with all their strength, hardly having the ability to focus on defense. These squires were, in turn, struck countless times by Remie’s wooden sword as he launched his sudden attacks, with Remie looking somewhat remorseful each time a blow landed on one of his comrades. The squires, however, did not mind, and encouraged Remie as they practiced.

The bruises on their arms and shoulders, in turn, were badges of valor they proudly wore — a testament to their dedication toward the duel.

The spectating knights could not hide their surprise at such a development. Although Kerio was not as famous as Rigel and the rest, he was considered a significant name to watch. Put against Kerio, his nameless opponent should have been defeated a long time ago — or so they thought.

Against the expectations of all present, the match had stretched out to a long battle of endurance. Although Kerio was the more skilled squire, he could not land a single decisive blow to seal his victory.

“It’s quite the hot blooded battle isn’t it...”

“That... Remie, was it? He’s giving it his all too.”

The comments came from the members of a knight platoon who just happened to be on their break. Although they did not intend to cheer for either party, the unexpected developments had thoroughly surprised them.

As the knights discussed their individual opinions of the match amongst themselves, one of their number raised a question with a somewhat suspicious expression on his face.

“Hey... Isn’t this duel a little too mobile?”

“Eh?”

Pointing his finger out at the position of the two dueling squires, the knight offered an explanation, perhaps to the benefit of his clueless compatriots.

“They were on the right side of the arena just now. But look! They’re already on the left side.”

It was then that the other knights noticed.

The two squires, who had just been clashing towards the right of the platoon leader’s spectator stands, were now firmly on the left of the structure. As they continued watching, the two continued to move once more, clashing and stepping towards the right side of the arena. To make matters more confusing, the pair moved not in a straight line, but in a haphazard zig-zag.

“What the hell is this?” “Why are the two of them moving so much...?”

Question after question filled the minds of the knights present.

The duel, however, continued to be dragged out, until it was finally stopped by a call from the referee.

It would seem that twenty minutes had passed since the start of their bout. The duel now entered its ten minute extension time.

With both contestants returning to the start point, the duel began anew with an announcement from the referee.

(Damn... How did this even enter extended time? But that’s enough... I’ll end this here and now.)

With those thoughts in mind, Kerio immediately rushed towards his opponent on the referee’s signal.

However, his legs buckled, and he almost fell over.

(Wh-What’s going on...?!)

Without understanding the developments, Kerio could only raise his unresponsive leg, stomping down on it repeatedly.

At that moment, however, Remie swung savagely at Kerio.

“Kuh...!”

It was a heavy blow, one that carried all of his opponent’s weight in it, unlike the attacks that Remie had effortlessly fended off before the extension. Kerio’s arms shook.

Remie, however, did not let up, repeatedly striking at the weakened Kerio.

(Impossible...! I’m the one who’s slowing down...?!)

The blocked blows became heavier and heavier, with his faltering defense slowly ushering Remie’s blade to his body.

The difference in weight was caused by a very simple reason — Remie’s intent had changed.

Kerio could feel his body getting heavier. It was no longer moving as he wanted it to — it was painfully obvious that his body’s overall performance was falling.

(It can’t be... My stamina?! But the extension has just begun...! To begin with, I’ve never lost a match just because I got tired!)

Kerio was a strong contestant. He had also invested a considerable amount of time and effort into his training. His stamina was above that of a normal person’s — to the point where he could easily fight for more than thirty minutes, extensions or otherwise. And yet...

There seemed to be no explanation for the situation at hand.

Taking advantage of his opponent’s weakening stance, Remie continued pressing the attack, landing blow after blow on Kerio’s crumbling defense, smiling as he did so.

“You’ve run several laps around the arena ever since the start of our duel... Tiring, isn’t it...?”

“Don’t tell me...!”

With those words, Kerio finally understood the purpose of Remie’s long steps.

A larger step naturally meant a longer distance covered. This also meant that Kerio, who had to close the distance while attacking, had to put in extra effort.

Ultimately, Remie’s continued stepping caused Kerio to expend his stamina at a rate much higher than that of a typical duel.

Frustrated that he had been paired with a supposed nobody, Kerio lost himself in fantasies of a straight and simple victory. He did not for a single moment even notice the amount of distance he had been made to cover.

In other words, Kerio had fallen for Remie’s stamina-depletion strategy — hook, line, and sinker.

However, while he understood all this, Kerio could not come to terms with one thing — Remie’s current movements. After all, Remie had been forced to cover the same amount of distance as he did. More accurately, Remie was the one leading him along — as such, logic dictated that Remie should be the more tired one of the two.

Remie, for his part, was drenched with sweat — just as his opponent was. He had obviously spent a considerable amount of stamina on his strategy. However, the strength that still remained in his sword was made painfully obvious to Kerio.

Kerio’s question was soon answered by the smiling Remie.

“It just so happens that I’m good at long-distance running... If it’s a fight over stamina, I will never lose...!”

It was worth noting that the current champion of long-distance running in the northern dormitory was, in fact, Remie.

Although Gormus had tried to keep up at first, he could not keep his large body active for such a long period of time, and eventually handed over the top spot to Remie.

Since then, Remie’s skill at long-distance running only increased, and he ended up leaving Gormus behind in the dust.

In other words, the squire with the largest amount of stamina in the northern dormitory was none other than Remie.

This was precisely why Remie had come up with such a strategy. Utilizing his relative invisibility in terms of reputation, Remie had successfully baited his opponent into matching the pace of his long steps during the match. Focusing on defense so he would not be caught unaware by Kerio’s counters, he aimed for the gaps between Kerio’s attacks, striking out without warning. In addition, Remie burned as much time as possible, literally running Kerio in circles as they clashed.

Thinking that Remie was intending to push for a draw, Kerio took that as an insult, deciding to utilize their difference in strength as an advantage.

However, Kerio, having used up most of his stamina, was now being pushed into a corner by Remie, whose stamina translated into the heavy blows he now had to defend against.

“Guh... Damn! It’s impossible! How can I be the one forced to defend...?!” Kerio shouted as he blocked Remie’s blows, his words tinged with disbelief.

“Let me correct one thing that you said during the match.” Maintaining his speed, Remie struck out at Kerio, smiling as his blade pushed closer and closer to his target. “From the very beginning... I was fighting to win!”

It was a perfect turnabout.

Kerio’s movements were sluggish at best, as he had used up all of his stamina. Remie, having used even more stamina than his opponent, was still moving at the speed he’d maintained before the extension.

At a glance, no one would have guessed that Remie had run the same amount of distance Kerio did. Striking out at Kerio again and again with his blows, Remie was now completely on the offensive.

“Dammit...! As if I would lose here...!”

Mustering the last bits of his strength, Kerio’s sword clashed with his opponent’s once more.

And so unfolded an even more hot-blooded battle between the two squires during the match’s extension.

This would, however, end in the next ten minutes.

“Draw!”

In the end, neither side was able to score a decisive victory.

As the results were announced, both Kerio and Remie were gasping for breath.

Their expressions, however, could not be more different. Kerio was pale — looking almost relieved that the match had ended. Remie, on the other hand, looked somewhat disappointed, confident that he could have won with a little more time.

In reality, that may very well have been the case if the extension were any longer than ten minutes.

After all, Kerio was barely managing to hang on, having used up all his stamina. His technique was what saved him from certain defeat. Remie, however, did not let up until the very last second.

The two wordlessly bowed and shook hands before returning to their respective spectator stands.

With his familiar, warm smile, Remie apologized to his fellow squires, a tinge of disappointment on his features.

“I’m sorry... I needed a little more time.”

“No, not at all! You were awesome!”

“Yeah! To think that you could go up against Kerio like that...! You’ve done more than enough!”

Perhaps it would go without saying, but there wasn’t a single soul in the northern dormitory who blamed Remie, who gave his all while fighting in his match.

Everyone around Remie was filled with bright, warm smiles. After all, a draw was advantageous to their dormitory’s current score.

And so it came to be that the third match of the duel ended, with Remie brilliantly passing the baton to Gormus.