Chapter 41

I seemed to have overdone it.

Anyway, after striking a cool pose, I waited for the Captain to arrive.

“I’ve brought him!!”

The soldier returned with a man who was supposedly the Captain, but honestly, he didn’t look all that strong.

“So, you are the human who dared to insult us?”

“That’s right. Though, technically, it only counts as an insult if you were planning to back down from the fight.”

I offered that minor correction. Besides, this duel was meant to showcase my strength; it would actually be a problem if he wasn’t at least somewhat formidable.

“Hmph. Do you truly believe a human can defeat us Draconewts?”

“Obviously. I make it a rule to only pick fights I know I can win.”

I threw out another little provocation. These guys were almost too easy to rile up; they took the bait every single time.

“We shall decide the rules for this duel. No objections, I assume?”

“None. However, I’d like to recommend Midgardsormr as the witness.”

I needed to make sure someone impartial was overseeing things.

“We have no issue with that. Lord Midgardsormr, would that be acceptable?”

“Sure. I don’t mind at aaall~”

Great. Now it just depended on what kind of rules they came up with.

“Then the rules are simple: the match ends only upon knockout or forfeit. How about it?”

“No problem here.”

They’d probably use weapons without a second thought. They’d likely spam Skills, too. After all, in their minds, winning was all that mattered.

“Then, let us begin.”

The Captain spoke while leveling his spear at me.

So weapons were allowed. My Wakizashi was high-performance enough that it might accidentally slice through things I didn’t intend to, though. It was probably better to sit this one out. Instead, I raised my fists.

“You bastard! How dare you underestimate me to the very end!!”

Hey now, don’t say that too loud or the professional Pugilists out there are going to get offended.

“Well then… begiiin~.”

What a lethargic voice. It was hard to get fired up with a signal like that.

“UOOOOOOOH!!”

Never mind, he was fired up! The Captain was plenty motivated! How could he scream like that after such a half-hearted start signal?

“Hah! Heup!”

Whoa, those consecutive thrusts actually had some weight behind them. Since I was bare-handed, my reach was overwhelmingly insufficient. Well, looking at it the other way, once I got inside his guard, he was mine. Now, when should I make my move?

“Is that all you can do?! Stand and watch! It’s only natural, seeing as you are but a human!!”

God, he was noisy.

“You’re gonna get tripped up if you keep talking like that.”

“Silence, mere human!!”

Personally, I think it’s better to listen when someone gives you advice.

In that case, let’s wrap this up. That said, since he had the superior reach, I had to deal with that spear first. Should I break it, or just knock it out of his hands?

“Fight me properly, you coward! All you do is run!”

“I can’t help it. It’s hard to go on the offensive when you’ve got the reach advantage.”

Fine, I’ll just dodge the spear.

“Let’s do this: we’ll settle it with the next strike. I’m going all out, so you’d better bring everything you’ve got, too.”

I beckoned him over with a hand, provoking him once more. It seemed the Draconewt race was a hot-headed bunch; they were so easy to manipulate with even the lightest taunt.

“…Fine! Come!!”

Wait, was it really that easy?! Even though I was the one doing the taunting, that was seriously simple. What a pushover.

As the Captain readied his spear, I took a stance of my own. Honestly, I was aiming for a counter… actually, he wasn’t moving. Change of plans—I’m going in all at once!

I activated ‘Physical Ability Enhancement’ and ‘Battle Spirit’ alongside my constant ‘Magic Power Detection,’ ‘Five Senses Enhancement,’ and ‘Sixth Sense.’ This was me at my absolute, serious best.

Ryu, moving out!

With my body reinforced, I appeared in front of the Captain in an instant—no reaction? Well, whatever.

Adding the aura of ‘Battle Spirit’ to my already boosted ‘Physical Ability Enhancement,’ I condensed the protective energy into my fist, making it even denser and harder, and swung with everything I had!

“GAH!!!!”

The Captain was sent flying, slamming directly into the wall beside the castle gates. The stone shattered into a spiderweb of cracks… yeah, let’s just call that an accident.

“That’s it~. This match is Ryu’s victory~.”

The battle ended with the leisurely sound of Midgardsormr’s voice.

“”“C-Captain!”““

The soldiers who had been jeering from the sidelines rushed over to the Captain in a panic.

“Mr. Orm, I can enter the country now, right?”

“Mr. Orm? Ah, I suppose my name is quite long~. Yes, you may enter. Dragons always keep their word~.”

Phew, thank goodness. If they had told me I couldn’t enter because I trashed their Captain, I would have seriously just gone home.

“Honestly, you went too far.”

Grandfather gave me a light, stunned thwack on the head.

“It’s fine, isn’t it? This was the best way to show the dragons what I can do.”

“Even so. However, Ryu, you have a habit of viewing every opponent as if they are superior to you. You should fix that, or you will waste your stamina on those beneath your level.”

Ah, he might have a point there. But since I grew up in a forest where basically everything was stronger than me, I just naturally assume everyone is above my pay grade.

“However, that strike was excellent. I will concede that much.”

Yes! I was a bit worried since I only rely on basic Skills, but if Grandfather recognized it, I can afford to have a little more confidence.

“Boy. Have you truly become that strong?”

“Hm? I’m still nowhere near your level, Leader, so I plan on getting even stronger from here on out!”

“I see… then keep at it, boy.”

“Yes, sir!!”

I’ll do my best for Ril and Karin, too!

“Well then, I’ll open it uuup~.”

Mr. Orm placed his hands on the gates and began to push them open with a heavy grinding sound.

“Mr. Orm is amazing…”

“In terms of pure, raw power, Midgardsormr is superior even to me.”

As expected of a legend. Opening such massive gates all by himself is something I definitely couldn’t do right now.

Then, Mr. Orm gave us a graceful bow.

“Welcome to the Dragon Empireee.”