The Second Son of The Marquis Runs Away from Home ~ Lacking Talent, He Abandons Everything and Becomes an Adventurer ~ - 103

Chapter 103: Difference in Class (Empire Side)

At the training grounds of the Mildrea Empire, knights were always reminded not to neglect their martial skills. The place was equipped with great facilities and expansive grounds, and in one corner, the “Thunder Piercing Knight,” Randil, was practicing with a spear, wrapping lightning around it as he swung it, blindfolded.

Each time the spear was swung, it pierced the hanging logs with lightning. When he finally struck the last one, Randil removed his blindfold, exhaled, and sat down on the ground.

“Your spear technique has become sharper,” a voice called out.

Turning toward the voice, Randil saw “Deep Green Knight” Arctos approaching with a jug in hand. Randil grabbed the jug, not caring as it spilled some water onto his clothes, and drank it all in one go.

“Ahh! Thanks!”

“You’re welcome… That said…”

Arctos stared at Randil, who was dripping with sweat. Noticing this, Randil raised an eyebrow and asked in confusion.

“What’s up?”

“I was just thinking,” Arctos began, “You always said that there was no better training than actual combat, yet recently, you’ve started pushing yourself with rigorous training and you’ve kept at it. What changed?”

“Hey, don’t say it like that,” Randil grumbled, making a face, but Arctos took no offense, letting the remark slide. Although they appeared to be a mismatched pair, their straightforward way of speaking was possible because they both respected each other’s strength.

“…Do you remember when Berg came to see us?” Randil suddenly asked.

“Earlier… Wasn’t that when the sea beast incident occurred in your jurisdiction?”

About half a year ago, in Randil’s coastal area, mutated monsters began attacking ships. The monsters appeared unpredictably and attacked vessels of all sizes. Randil’s team had been struggling against them when Victoria, by command, sent Berg, who was investigating nearby, to assist.

“Yeah, I was happy to have his help because I was dealing with some fire thieves taking advantage of the chaos… But, well, we also have a lot of idiots in our group, right?”

“Yes, your squad is the perfect place for correction because of the harshness of the work.”

Randil’s knight squadron was in charge of the sea, and their work often involved being aboard ships. In their isolated environment, strict command and discipline were necessary, and this was sometimes used to correct those who had misbehaved.

Randil, with his caring nature, was well-liked by his knights, and he had successfully brought together many troublemakers under his leadership.

“Some of the guys who didn’t like Berg started convincing others with the same thoughts… While I was dealing with something else, they tried to challenge him with about fifty men. They wanted to beat him up.”

“First time I’m hearing about this.”

“I didn’t tell anyone. Well, when one of the guys who was involved came to warn me, I rushed to the scene and saw it firsthand.”

“Saw what?”

“The idiots had already been knocked down. And they didn’t even use magic or those weapons.”

By the time Randil arrived, about half of the men had already been taken down. The ones attacking from all sides were either writhing on the ground in agony, fighting each other in confusion, or being used as human shields, all quickly falling to the ground.

“I thought I was pretty confident in my own strength,” Randil said. “But when it came to Berg, I couldn’t even imagine beating him.”

“Really?”

“I thought he was strong because of that weapon, but I was completely wrong.”

Even without magic or that weapon, Berg had the strength to go up against a nation and win if it came to that. And despite having such power, Berg never got arrogant and never slacked off in his training.

“Watching him made me realize… I can still get stronger too.”

“You’re young,” Arctos said with a slight smile. “I somewhat envy you.”

“We’re not that far apart in age,” Randil replied. “By the way, what do you think of him?”

When Randil asked, Arctos placed his hand on his chin, thinking for a moment before answering quietly.

“As for me, I want to praise the me from a year ago.”

“Huh?”

“At that time, if I had rushed my judgment… If he had turned out to be an enemy…”

Arctos’ smile faded as he continued in a serious tone.

“The Empire would have been destroyed, not by the unification of the Humankind continent, but by a single monster.”