Volume 4 Chapter 14 Things That Cannot Be Resolved By Strength
When Cain stood up, the crowd in the stands got super excited.
"Here we come! We came to see this!"
"I'm counting on you, Victor!"
The cheers mixed with some boos, but it seemed like half the crowd was still on their side. After all, being the only S-rank in Dukedom has its perks.
The two fighters slowly moved closer and stared each other down in the center of the arena.
"I'm glad. When your bastard old man bowed his head, I thought, what's going to happen now..."
Cain smirked and glanced at Alan, who was behind Randy.
"Thanks to that old man's cowardness, the government got fired up instead."
Cain laughed, but Randy stayed quiet. If he wanted to say something, he could. If Cain thought Alan was a coward after seeing that negotiation, it wouldn't matter if Randy denied it.
Even if he didn't like it, what would happen if he tried to solve things with strength against the government? In the end, it would just be for his own satisfaction.
Does he think he can solve everything with violence?
Or does he want to kill others for his own satisfaction while ignoring the chaos around him?
Randy thought, "That's ridiculous. It's even worse than a kid's fight."
Acting just based on feelings is childish. Randy himself learned that the hard way when he was younger.
He acted on impulse, caused trouble for his family, and ended up in a mess. Even a kid's fight can lead to that. Imagine a ruler doing the same...
If you're a ruler, you have to take responsibility for your choices. You need to think about the consequences of your actions.
Even if you could take down the Dukedom Government by force, there would be many problems. No, there would only be problems.
Dukedom is a recognized country by other nations. So, no matter how foolish the government is, the international community sees Dukedom as it is now, with its current government and Grand Duke. If you try to take that by force, even if it's a civil war, you can't escape criticism from other countries.
Friendly nations might intervene.
An empire might try to take advantage of the situation.
Other nobles with grudges might start a civil war.
No... neighboring countries will definitely react. It's a threat to their freedom and self-governance. If they ignore it, their own freedom and self-governance could be at risk.
And it wouldn't just involve him. It would affect all the people of Dukedom. That's why he chose to have talks and made such generous proposals. The government would probably accept something that's just part of Victor's daily life.
He followed the proper procedures, made demands that couldn't be refused, and didn't just give the other side disadvantages.
Just like the picture Alan drew.
After all, there are things that can't be solved by strength alone. Alan has always reminded him of this.
Because he understands this so well, he set up the situation and even participated in boring talks to make things work in their favor.
When someone who doesn't know the responsibilities they carry calls him a "coward," all he can say is, "Yeah, sure." Their values are so different that he doesn't even feel the need to explain.
All he can do is sigh.
Cain, who still calls him a "coward," seems annoyed that Randy isn't reacting.
"What's wrong? Cat got your tongue?"
Ignoring Cain, Randy looked at the man in charge.
"There are 2 demands this time, right?"
"Y-yes."
The man nodded, and Randy sighed, thinking it was a hassle, while looking at Cain and the guy behind him, Ordis.
"I'll take you both on at once."
Randy grinned confidently, but Cain frowned heavily, while the crowd cheered loudly.
"Don't mess with me!"
Cain shouted, but Randy, who was at a disadvantage, said, "I don't care." No matter how much Cain, just a representative, yelled, the final decision was up to the government and Shadler.
Of course, Ordis was also angry, saying, "Don't insult us," but in the end, the government's wishes would take priority over Shadler's.
"I'll allow it."
With that, a 2-on-one duel became a first in duel history.
The crowd was getting really excited, and Cain and Ordis were super angry. Just when the atmosphere was heating up, the host came down from above the arena.
'Now, we will start the duel for the honor and requests of the government, the Shadler family, and the Victor family.'
With the cheers of the crowd behind them, the two opponents faced each other.
"Mr. Ordis, can you step back a bit?"
"Tch, fine."
Even though it was supposed to be a 2-on-one, the opponent was coming out one at a time. But Randy didn't want to argue about it. The main reason for making it a 2-on-one was to make sure Ordis wouldn't back out of the fight with Cain.
'The rules follow the ancient duel style, allowing the use of weapons, until the referee say 'stop' to stop the battle──.'
The shouting host seemed to be the referee. As the moment to start approached, both fighters moved away from the center to get ready.
Cain received a magic sword from his teammate, while Ordis went to the side of the arena. Randy stretched out and got into a stance without any weapons.
Cain frowned at Randy, who had no weapons, and the crowd gasped, but Randy ignored them. He just took a deep breath to focus on his opponent.
Now, Randy slowly exhaled... There are things that can't be solved with just strength. But...
(There are things that can't be solved with just strength. But from here on, I'll solve it with power... this is my territory.)
'Then... let's begin──.'
At the host's signal, Cain and Randy vanished.
Then, suddenly, Cain was slammed down in the center of the arena.
The loud noise shook the whole place; it was either Cain hitting the stone floor or Randy's punch landing on him.
Anyway, the two moved so fast that Randy hit Cain's head with his right fist before Cain could even use his magic sword.
Cain, who was moving sideways, got hit straight down. The force of the hit made Cain's body sink into the ground.
The crowd and the host were left speechless, staring at Cain's twitching fingers.
"This isn't over yet. 'I'll wait for you'."
With a sigh, Randy walked over to Ordis while waiting for Cain to recover.
"Hey. Don't just hide in the corner; let's play around like we used to in pro wrestling."
As Randy grinned, Ordis's face twisted in surprise, and he squeaked, "Pro-wrestling?" just as Randy disappeared.
The next moment, Randy reappeared, slamming a lariat into Ordis's neck.
The sound of their bodies colliding shook the arena, and Ordis spun backward with a lot of force.
As Ordis fell with a loud crash, Randy leaned in with a mischievous smile.
"Looks like you've been training a bit. I was worried you'd go down in one hit like before."
In front of Randy's smile, Ordis was gasping for air, his mouth opening and closing as he struggled for oxygen.
"VICTOOOOR!"
The roar that echoed was probably from Cain.
When Randy turned around, he saw Cain standing there, his face filled with rage.
"I'm gonna kill you!"
Cain charged in faster than before. He swung at Randy, who dodged and then delivered a powerful hook.
Randy's right fist connected with Cain's face.
The punch landed hard.
Saliva flew, and blood sprayed everywhere.
With that, Cain was sent flying.
He hit the ground and rolled but quickly jumped back up.
Blood was dripping from his nose and fell onto his magic sword, making it glow ominously.
"Pretty cool, huh? [Carnage] drinks my blood and boosts my power."
Cain grinned as he cut himself with the magic sword. The sword glowed even brighter as it absorbed his blood.
(So, the lower his HP, the stronger he gets... something like that?)
In games, getting hurt and being near death makes you stronger. But in reality, it seems like it's absorbing blood to get stronger.
(It looks like it works well with self-healing.)
Just as Randy thought, if the sword gets stronger by drinking blood, it's a perfect match for Cain, who has a special ability to heal quickly. Of course, if he gives too much blood, he might get weak.
"This is perfect for someone as hot-blooded as you."
Randy laughed through his nose as Cain got closer again.
The magic sword came at Randy with even more speed and sharpness than before.
A downward slash.
An upward counter.
A diagonal cut.
Randy stepped back, but Cain quickly closed the distance.
But then, Randy stepped in too.
He closed the gap of the magic sword with his bare hands.
But in that tight space, Cain swung the hilt of the magic sword.
Randy bent his knees as the hilt came close to his forehead.
As Randy's head dropped, the hilt shot up into the air.
At the same time, Randy threw a left punch at Cain's side.
When Randy's punch hit, Cain let out a "Guh!"
Randy used that left punch to grab Cain's arm and flip him around.
Randy, in a low stance, lifted Cain onto his back.
Cain was slammed down onto the ground.
"Ugh... Hah──"
Cain seemed to have let out all the air from his lungs, gasping for oxygen.
Boom!
But at the same, Randy stomped on Cain's face.
While Cain twitched again, Randy turned back to Ordis with a snort.
"Looks like it's 'touch,' right?"
"Touch? Huh?"
Randy ran at the confused Ordis and jumped up.
Randy's legs grabbed Ordis's head tightly.
Randy spun backward in a full rotation.
──Tihira.
Ordis had no chance against that crazy wrestling move.
His head hit the ground hard.
"Ughhh!"
By the time Ordis was rolling on the ground, it seemed like Cain had recovered and stood up again.
"VICTOR... VICTOOOOR!"
Cain's eyes were completely focused as he said, "I'm going all out now," and hurt himself to let the magic sword drink his blood... A dark fighting spirit rose up, wrapping around both the sword and Cain.
"In this form, I'm stronger than the [Sword Saint]!"
With an evil grin, Cain readied the magic sword.
As he pushed off the ground, it exploded, and suddenly, Cain was right in front of Randy.
A powerful strike came down toward Randy.
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