Duke’s Son: Re

Chapter 39

In his excitement, he had let his guard down.

“Damn it!”

A swordsman knew how to wield a spear. And even against me!

Clutching his pounding chest, Ha Kyungsoo staggered to his feet, glaring at Jaehyuk as if he wanted to kill him.

“A fallen noble dares mock me?”

“The audacity is just some crazy talk. Who do you think you are?”

Jaehyuk’s head tilted slightly.

“And, by the way, I’m not the one who fell; it’s my family.”

As his eyes half-closed, his pitch-black pupils ceased reflecting light.

An abyss-like darkness emerged.

Startled, Ha Kyungsoo instinctively stepped back, feeling as if he were being swallowed by the dark, his hand clutching the spear trembling uncontrollably.

“If my family has fallen, it’s my job to raise it back up.”

Jaehyuk knew it too.

He was aware that his declaration was, for now, nothing more than the boast of a brash youth.

Thus, he couldn’t shout it with pride and merely mumbled quietly.

“A fool who doesn’t know his place!”

Was it right to suffer all kinds of humiliation from someone who was level 10 just days ago?

Ha Kyungsoo, unable to accept it, exploded in anger and swung his spear.

A dazzling spear technique unfolded.

The Ha family’s spear technique had an artistic aspect. Like crafting an ink painting in a single stroke, it flowed gracefully but occasionally ended with powerful emphases.

They aggressively utilized the flexible spear shaft to block the opponent’s path, strike, and trip them to suppress, then finished them at the opportune moment.

‘It’s just flashy on the outside and actually quite practical.’

The character of the spear general was likely the complete opposite of his son’s.

He maintained a serene composure while slowly draining the enemy’s health.

Ha Kyungsoo probably would not excel in the Ha family’s spear technique.

‘I’ve seen enough of you.’

Jaehyuk took a step back and thrust the spear ten times consecutively.

He swiftly penetrated the gaps in the Ha family’s spear technique, showing miraculous skill by piercing each of Ha Kyungsoo’s ten fingers in succession.

‘Is this bastard toying with me?’

Ha Kyungsoo gritted his teeth.

Normally, he would have lost strength in his hands and dropped his spear.

But, just in case, he had consumed the elixir he received from his teacher before entering the stage, temporarily boosting his stamina stats.

Thanks to increased defense, he withstood the limited power of the magically-engineered weapon.

Whir!

Ha Kyungsoo’s wrist twisted at an unnatural angle, swinging the spear like a whip.

Simultaneously, Jaehyuk lunged forward.

Right at the moment when the flexible spear shaft aimed to strike his neck, Jaehyuk darted into Ha Kyungsoo’s bosom.

Crack!

The pointed spear, loaded with momentum, struck Ha Kyungsoo’s throat, causing him to collapse without even a scream.

His consciousness began to fade.

Just at the moment when Ha Kyungsoo sensed defeat, the one-time artifact he had received from his teacher shattered with a sound, anchoring his consciousness.

‘I can’t lose after coming this far!’

Ha Kyungsoo, unable to stand, swept the ground with his spear.

Thud, thud!

His spear, bouncing off the floor, rose rapidly.

It was a surprise attack that was difficult to predict from the receiving end.

Ha Kyungsoo thought he had finally succeeded in his counterattack, but Jaehyuk’s foot had already landed steadily on the tip of his spear.

It was a motion as light as a butterfly.

Yet Ha Kyungsoo’s spear was grounded as if crushed by a rock, while Jaehyuk’s hair fluttered wildly.

There were traces of mana at work.

Boom!!

As mana surged from Jaehyuk’s sole, Ha Kyungsoo’s spear plunged deep into the stage.

‘Is this possible?’

Could mana control alone exert the power of a thousand-pound weight?

Ha Kyungsoo, horrified, attempted to retrieve his spear, but that futile action led him to fail to evade Jaehyuk’s next attack, and his chest was pierced again.

“Urk…!”

“It is convenient to use a spear. The reach alone makes it useful.”

The fearsome aspect of a prestigious family’s martial arts lay in their continuous evolution.

And the Kang family was a preeminent family. The accumulated data from the ancestors over hundreds of years was embedded in the family’s martial arts.

People may perceive the Kang family’s martial arts as either swordsmanship or fencing, but in reality, it was closer to a technique of neutralization.

Techniques for countering most skills and weapons existing in the world.

A true warrior of the Kang family could contend with all foes with just one sword, and was formidable even without it.

Moreover, Jaehyuk had an all-master skill.

Before his awakening, he could handle weapons other than swords at a proficient level, and after his awakening, he handled all weapons at the level of a sword.

It meant he dealt with them at the master level.

To the world, it was seen as a strange event (奇事), and the system regarded him as a Knight.

“Don’t speak of spears when all you know is a sword!”

“I told you, I’m not a swordsman, you deaf fool.”

“Damn it! Just shut up for once!”

With no winning chances in sight, Ha Kyungsoo deployed his first skill.

Invisibility.

A technique that concealed his appearance and footsteps.

Although it had many drawbacks, it was classified as top-grade among assassination skills.

Ha Kyungsoo vanished from the stage without a trace.

Admiration erupted from several places, but Jaehyuk seemed indifferent.

Smash!

“Gah!”

As Jaehyuk swung the spear like a baseball bat, Ha Kyungsoo reappeared in what was empty air.

Struck on the head by the spear blade, he spun dozens of times, flying into the audience.

It was a perfect home run.

“Oh my gosh!”

Could a person really be swung like a home-run ball?

And it was heading right towards those in the audience!

The startled association officials struggled to catch the student, ensuring no one got hurt.

Watching with amusement, Jaehyuk signaled the referee with his eyes, and the referee, regaining composure, shouted in a trembling voice.

“Ka, Kang Jaehyuk wins!”

“Waaaahhhh!!”

“Crazy! Class B beat Class A!”

“How can he use spearmanship so well?”

“So he’s actually a spearman in disguise. A spearman hiding his strength.”

“How did he even detect the invisibility so easily in the last moment?”

“Having a bloodline skill holder really makes a difference.”

Cheers erupted.

Mostly from the students.

A dazzling spear vs. spear showdown.

And an unexpected result.

The students, with their yet developing insight, focused only on the outcome.

Especially the fact that a student from Class B defeated one from Class A was exhilarating for them.

They realized that Class A was not invincible and embraced dreams and hope.

Meanwhile, the active players stayed as silent as mice.

They were astonished that Jaehyuk’s eyes never turned gold even once.

This was evidence that Jaehyuk’s spearmanship was not based on skill, but in the realm of pure technique.

‘As Yaksha’s son, I expected him to excel with a sword…’

‘But he handles a spear just as well as a sword, overwhelming opponents of higher levels purely with technical superiority.’

In truth, Jaehyuk’s stats were far higher than Ha Kyungsoo’s.

However, Jaehyuk did not go all out.

Concealing one’s abilities was advantageous in front of people, and there was also the intent to observe and learn from Ha family’s spear technique as much as possible.

Furthermore, Ha Kyungsoo had the aid of an elixir and an artifact. His stats seemed higher as he endured several of Jaehyuk’s attacks.

“Mastering two types of weapons is an enormous advantage. The higher he levels up, the more monstrous he’ll become.”

“He might easily pass the National Treasure candidate evaluation too. Though I suspect the association will keep delaying the evaluation.”

“Even better, I hope that kid harbors more resentment towards the association. That way, we can have a guild recruitment competition without him being snatched by the association.”

The emergence of a new genius reinvigorates the industry.

The representatives of major guilds viewed Jaehyuk with favorable eyes.

The dignity of the strong.

A radically different attitude compared to the jackals who coveted the Kang family’s martial arts without knowing their own place.

Of course, not all looks were friendly.

“Defeating the Spear General’s second son with spear skills… that’s beyond just mocking the young lord; it’s intended to disgrace the Ha family.”

“As is expected of the Kang family’s bloodline, they’re doing ignoble things. Someone must teach them a lesson!”

The Ha family cronies glared at Jaehyuk as if they could kill him.

However, their anger and murderous intent subsided as if it was a lie.

“It was Kyungsoo who committed the disgraceful acts.”

A man lounged halfway on his seat, covering his face with a pamphlet.

He was Ha Jung-il, the Spear General’s brother and Ha Kyungsoo’s uncle.

“The kid’s been away from home so soon and is already tainted. This is why immature brats shouldn’t enter the Lion’s Castle. Governing bodies, associations, guilds, and foundations all competing in the dirty battlefield of politics makes them learn only the worst.”

Tsk, he clicked his tongue, looking down at Jaehyuk through the gap in the pamphlet.

‘Only those with conviction would reap nothing but benefits.’

He liked Jaehyuk’s intention to observe the Ha family’s spear technique.

He feared someone might solely focus on the unworthy individual and undervalue the family’s martial arts.

‘I can’t fathom how rapidly he might grow.’

***

“Wow, Kang Jaehyuk… Though he insisted he wasn’t a swordsman, turns out he’s really a spearman.”

“Why isn’t he a Taoist! What exactly is Kang Jaehyuk?”

“He’s so cool! How much grueling training must he have done to handle not just the sword, but the spear so well?”

Having exited the stage and returned to the audience, Dojin and his group warmly greeted Jaehyuk.

“If you work hard, any of you can do it.”

Every day, every single day.

Jaehyuk beheaded his enemies with every swing of his sword.

He beheaded the enemies’ necks with a single thrust, cut them with a blade swing in the second, and shot them with a bow and a gun in the third.

Magic, poison, curses, holiness, spear, axe, blunt weapons, whips, morning stars, flails, nunchucks, and so on.

The enemies Jaehyuk slew over ten thousand times daily deployed every weapon and tactic available in the world to attack him.

Such was the pursuit of martial arts within the Kang family.

“Really? Then I’ll start practicing spearmanship from tomorrow.”

Dojin’s face lit up at Jaehyuk’s assurance that hard work would suffice.

Yujin envied his simplicity anew.

However, Jaehyuk was serious in his response.

“For you, it’s better to practice archery than spearmanship. Cultivating martial arts that require concentration and mana operation will help you become accustomed to using Shunpo.”

“Okay! I’m off to book time at the shooting range!!”

“Hold on. You do know you mustn’t neglect your practice in great swordsmanship, right?”

“Of course! I’ll cut my sleep time by half!”

“Will Dojin sunbae actually learn archery properly?”

“He’ll probably go through a bit of hardship for a while.”

“I-I’m off to book at the shooting range too!”

Jaehyuk and Yujin, who were chuckling heartily, stopped smiling abruptly.

***

The observation lounge, forbidden even to the leaders of the five major guilds.

Seol Soo-ah, who observed Jaehyuk’s duel from behind a blackout screen, gave an order to her aide.

“Withdraw Baek Young-dae from the grave.”

Her spiritual sense impacted the whole of the Lion’s Castle.

Though she couldn’t scrutinize every detail, she could identify significant disturbances immediately.

In short, she noticed Theodore’s resurrection.

When he awakened a few days ago, the mana wave was quite powerful.

Hence, she deployed Baek Young-dae and received reports that Theodore seemed to have targeted Jaehyuk.

She had pondered over how to handle this for several days….

‘I trust you will handle it.’

At this moment, she shelved her concerns.