Chapter Forty-Six: The Duel (Part Two) Thanks to Uncle Qiluo for the generous tip.
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Forcefully Breaking the Bridle!
Crack!
One of the Black Knight’s arms was cleaved off by Kai just like that. Yet Kai did not relent once he had gained the upper hand. After knocking aside the Black Knight’s straight punch and leaving his centerline exposed, Kai immediately drove a fist into the knight’s throat, forcing his body to arch backward involuntarily.
Taking advantage of the moment when the Black Knight was unable to retaliate, Kai’s fists began raining down upon his face.
Forcefully Breaking the Bridle was the final technique among the Eight Openings’ single-hand combat forms. It was powerful enough to tear through an opponent’s guard with ease, allowing the user to enter effortlessly. At any moment, the fists and palms of both arms could shift between one another, chopping or striking as they went straight for vital points. Kai rarely used this technique against living men, however, because once employed, it almost invariably left the opponent dead or grievously injured. Forcefully Breaking the Bridle was a killing move designed specifically to attack the face and throat. Even during ordinary practice, it was liable to injure someone—let alone in actual combat.
But as mentioned before, the Black Knight was not human. Thus, although Kai’s assault had warped his helmet out of shape, he remained standing stubbornly upright. Faced with such an unkillable punching bag, Kai naturally could not afford to stop.
His fists continued without pause. Taking advantage of the knight’s unsteady footing, he pressed the attack relentlessly.
Because the “Breaking the Bridle” strike of Kai’s Forcefully Breaking the Bridle had severed one of his arms, the Black Knight was forced to raise his greatsword one-handed and hold it horizontally across his upper body. This increased the area he could defend and prevented attacks from reaching vital regions such as his head and chest. Although the Black Knight was undead, the instincts of his body remained, and certain defensive movements occurred beyond his control.
While the knight’s defense left him unable to protect both ends of his upper body at once, Kai swept his foot low and struck the back of his knee. It was a natural point of leverage on the human body; hardly any force was needed to disrupt a person’s balance. The Black Knight staggered.
The instant the knight lost his balance, the vital point of his head was exposed. Kai naturally would not let such an opportunity pass. Twisting his body, he raised one leg high above his head and brought it crashing down like a great axe, smashing viciously into the Black Knight’s skull.
Thud!
The Black Knight’s instincts were surprisingly quick. At the instant Kai’s descending kick struck his head, he managed to shift it slightly to the side. His movement was still too slow, however. His entire body collapsed to its knees, and the blow sent his helmet flying.
But the instant the helmet hit the ground, everyone present finally saw the Black Knight’s true face.
A shriveled, blackened, hideous corpse’s head appeared before them all.
The gossipmongers of Camelot had naturally speculated about the Black Knight’s identity, but no one had ever been able to offer a satisfactory answer. After all, nearly twenty years had passed since the events of that time. How many people could still remember them?
And yet now—
Contrary to everyone’s expectations, the sight beneath that helmet was a terrifying dried corpse.
Hearing the waves of frightened cries rising from the arena, Kai frowned.
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To be honest, he was somewhat disappointed. More than that, he felt even sadder. The Knight Tristan he had once admired and longed to emulate had appeared before the world in such a loathsome form.
Kai had wanted to face the real Tristan, not the hideous puppet before him.
After seeing this, Kai had lost all desire for a contest. Tristan should have remained in people’s hearts as the perfect embodiment of a knight. He should have represented glory—not stood before the world in this evil form. Nothing could be a greater insult to him.
This duel could no longer be called honorable, so Kai decided to grant him final release.
Kai paid no attention to the Black Knight, who was lifting his lolling head and attempting to reattach it to his neck. Instead, he turned and retrieved his twin swords.
“It’s over… You truly are no longer Tristan. Don’t worry. I’ll find the culprit behind all this and make him understand the price of desecrating a warrior.”
Kai walked calmly before the Black Knight and spoke in a quiet voice.
Then he raised the Dragon-Breath Divine Sword and charged.
…
The outcome of the final battle was obvious. The undead creature was no match for Kai. Though the undead could not die, its bones could still break. With fractures throughout its body, the force it could generate had become disjointed, and its movements were awkward in the extreme. It could not keep pace with Kai at all.
Before long, Kai’s twin swords severed its head.
As the head was cut away, a brilliant blaze erupted from the withered, shrunken corpse. A moment later, the body dissolved into flying ash.
Tristan had vanished completely.
At the same time, a surge of energy poured into Kai’s body.
The sudden influx caught him off guard. The energy was immense—enough to increase his energy gauge by nearly thirty percent. That thirty percent also granted Kai an energy point.
Seeing this unexpected reward, Kai raised an eyebrow. He had never imagined that a duel which had begun so grandly and ended so abruptly could yield such an astonishing harvest. Kai had slain undead creatures before, but never once had the rewards been so abundant.
Could it be that what he had just killed was truly Tristan’s soul?
At the thought, Kai could not help feeling somewhat dejected. Gaining soul energy was certainly gratifying, but when the source was someone he had once admired, it evoked an entirely different emotion. Kai felt as though he had personally killed Tristan…
Fortunately, Kai had always possessed a strong mind, and he quickly recovered his composure.
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After all, that corpse, controlled by hatred and sorrow, could hardly be called Tristan. Even if Tristan’s soul had truly been within it, Kai had merely granted him release. Kai believed that, given Tristan’s pride, he would never have been able to endure seeing his corpse so thoroughly desecrated, even if the price was complete annihilation.
As the Black Knight was reduced to ashes, the entire arena erupted in thunderous cheers.
A knight representing Camelot had slain a monster from the underworld! Could anything have made for a more sensational tale?
Before long, the story of Kai and the Death Knight would surely spread throughout all the Celtic kingdoms.
Once again, Camelot’s might had been proven.
Thus, from the common people to King Uther and the others, everyone was extraordinarily pleased.
Only Kai seemed somewhat downcast.
…
That evening, after a lively banquet at which nearly everyone had been satisfied, King Uther returned alone to his chambers.
The events of the past two days had left Uther utterly exhausted. He understood better than anyone that the matter was far from over. The desecration of Tristan’s corpse was merely the beginning of everything.
For twenty years, he had believed that time would bring an end to it all. But when Tristan’s corpse stood before him, Uther knew that it had all been nothing more than wishful thinking.
He had failed to escape the events of twenty years ago. After two decades, they had become entangled with him once more.
Dwelling on these matters, Uther felt more exhausted than ever before. But just then, a gust of wind suddenly swept through the room, whose doors and windows had been tightly closed.
Uther raised his head and looked toward the candle, its flame flickering between brightness and shadow in the wind. His eyes were filled with sorrow.
Slowly, he turned around.
A beautiful young woman dressed in red was already standing a short distance behind him.
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