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Chapter 196 - Ronan (2)

Relinquishing the Foram name. That would mean that Ronan would return to being a commoner.

As Ronan’s eyes twitched in confusion, Hamilton shouted in disbelief, “Sir Iselan! What kind of nonsense are you telling him!”

Just as Hamilton was about to shout at the top of his lungs, Iselan cast him a murderous glare, grunting at him.

Hamilton was completely overwhelmed by those fierce eyes. Once he became quiet, Iselan regained his composure and spoke again.

“Ronan.”

“Yes, Deputy Commander.”

“What is it that makes you hesitate?”

"What...?”

“Don’t you feel like you’ve had enough of depending on the Forams for decades to survive?”

“Well, that’s...”

“Anyone can make choices like you did when they were young. But haven’t things changed since then? Take a look at yourself now. Even though you live at the crossroads of life and death by fighting beasts every day, aren’t you happy?”

Iselan was right.

When Ronan was young, he became an adoptee to the Foram family in order to survive. In order to continue to survive, he constantly strived to hone his swordsmanship skills and learn the martial arts of the Foram family, since that was the only way he would get enough food to last a day.

His reward for having survived that long was to serve at Caliburn Fortress on behalf of Hamilton, dealing with beasts for the rest of his life. Based on the idea of noblesse oblige, it was an honorable duty within the family.

“Ronan, abandon the Foram name. If you don’t do that now, you’ll live the rest of your life and die as Kington’s hunting dog.”

Everything Iselan had said was true.

In fact, the reason why Kington, who had never shown any interest in Ronan until now, suddenly recommended him to be part of the Imperial Ten Swords was to solidify his foundation and be more influential in the new empire.

At that moment, Hamilton, unable to stand it any longer, finally shouted in frustration, “Sir Iselan! You\'re crossing the line right now! I will report this to my father and His Majesty!”

“Go ahead, tell them.”

"Huh?"

“You fucking coward, I thought you just had an ugly face, but the way you do things is also ugly. Poor Kington, ending up with a kid like this after all these years.”

“H-how dare you speak to me with such insolence?!”

"Why? Did I say something wrong? Aren’t you Kington’s only legitimate son? Aren’t you supposed to complete this mission that your father gave you if it means risking your life? You’re telling me what...? That you’re going to tell Kington?”

Iselan let out everything that was on his mind, completely humiliating Hamilton, who, upon hearing the insults, flushed red.

Seeing him like this, Iselan laughed even harder and continued, "What’s the matter? Pull out your sword if you’re angry. If you defeat Ronan fair and square with your skills, I won’t say a single word about the Foram family taking him back.”

As Iselan continued with his mockery, Hamilton stood up and slammed the desk.

Bang!

He then glared at Iselan as if he was about to kill him and spoke in a furious voice, "What you just said... You better keep your word!”

“Of course,” responded Iselan with a smirk. He couldn’t help but smile because his proposal was merely bait, and Hamilton had taken it.

After a brief pause, Hamilton yelled, “Ronan!”

“Yes, big brother!”

“Unsheath your sword. As the only and legitimate successor of the Foram, I will set an example for everyone and bring you before Father fair and square.”

“All right..."

Thud, thud, thud!

As Hamilton challenged Ronan to a sparring match, Ronan could feel his heart pounding out of his chest.

Ronan’s adversary wasn’t just anybody; he was Hamilton Foram, the legitimate son of the Foram family, the one person to whom Ronan had been constantly compared to ever since he was a kid.

To Ronan, this moment was truly shocking and unbelievable.

Ronan was the most talented adoptee among the Foram family, but no matter how outstanding he was, Hamilton would always receive better treatment even if he swung his sword like a five-year-old. He was the only legitimate son, so he would always have it better.

Realizing how far he had made it, Ronan could feel his fingertips tremble slightly. He quickly clenched his fists to hide his nervousness.

At that moment, Iselan quietly called him, “Ronan.”

“Y-yes...! Yes, Deputy commander.”

Ronan was caught off guard. Noticing how he was startled, Iselan reassured him with a smile, “Don’t feel pressured. I won’t be disappointed in you even if you lose.”

“But, but sir...!”

Disappointment.

Throughout all his life in the Foram family, Ronan had always been forced to listen to that word. It was because of that word that he constantly felt pressured for as long as he could remember.

How disappointing.

Is this all you got?

I’ve done so much more when I was your age.

Kington had made a habit of criticizing Ronan like that, which caused him to be obsessed with not letting anyone down.

Just like the old days, Ronan was once again in a similar situation. The difference was that this time, it came along with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that could completely change the course of his life.

Ronan found himself at a crossroads, facing two people: Hamilton and Iselan. He knew exactly what he had to do.

“Thank you, Deputy Commander.”

Ronan’s fingers ceased to tremble as he made up his mind. He stood up, bowed slightly to Iselan, and then looked at Hamilton.

"All right. Older brother, thank you for giving me the opportunity.”

“Y-you ungrateful little...!”

Hamilton had used to bully the adoptees whenever he had the chance. He had constantly teased and mocked them, which ultimately caused all of them to subconsciously fear him. Of course, Ronan was no different.

However, thanks to Iselan, Ronan managed to dispel the underlying fear he had toward Hamilton, along with his compulsive habit of trembling.

“Let’s take this somewhere else.”

With that, their duel was set in stone.

* * *

“Ronan, unsheath your real sword.”

Hamilton didn’t take the wooden sword Nichel had given him because he planned to unleash on Ronan all the anger that resulted from all the mocking he had endured from Iselan.

Iselan couldn’t help but laugh out loud at Hamilton’s absurdity.

“Crazy bastard.”

As a bystander, there was no way he could keep in his laughter as he knew that Hamilton was digging his own grade. Iselan was genuinely pleased with how he was acting.

“I respect your prowess with a blade.”

At Hamilton’s words, Ronan also threw away his wooden sword and drew out his real sword. His sword was named Roanus, a sword that Iselan had given him as a gift. Iselan had specifically requested the sword from Mushu when he had become his assistant.

Shiing.

The Roanus was a glimmering ivory hue, and Hamilton made a comment as soon as he saw it.

“Some lousy sword you have.”

Hamilton couldn’t help but make a disparaging comment. Afterward, he pulled out a sword of the Foram family, received from none other than his father, the Poseira. At a glance, the sword looked nothing short of a treasure.

The blade itself was made of the hardest steel in the entire continent, the mizake steel, and its handle was made of calf leather. The leather itself was replaced periodically to ensure that the sword constantly looked brand new.

Nichel and Iselan were the only spectators of this duel, as two witnesses were more than enough.

Tzzz...

The two brothers activated their Auras.

Even though Hamilton was unattractive, he was still the son of Kington, the Knight King, which meant that he had inherited the martial arts skills from him.

Two blue flames heated up the sparring hall. Soon, both Hamilton and Ronan took the same stance. That was because they were both from the Foram family and had learned the same swordsmanship techniques.

As the two fiercely looked each other in the eyes, Hamilton spoke up, “I will let you attack first. Show me what you got.”

Hamilton was absolutely convinced that he would win because he knew that Ronan had only learnt the basic swordsmanship techniques of the Foram family. Hamilton himself had learnt the origins, the fundamentals of Foram swordsmanship. Those techniques were passed down only to the real members of the Foram family.

Ronan then gave Hamilton a slight nod before he used his footwork.

“If I may...”

Flash!

Ronan moved as he made circles with his feet. He was flexible and quick on his feet; he didn’t make any unnecessary movements. His ability to move like that resulted from his practicing for every single day since he had last sparred with Henry.

‘Huh, that’s all you got?’

Nevertheless, Hamilton could easily discern every single one of his moves. That was because the fundamental Foram swordsmanship surpassed the basic Foram swordsmanship.

‘Basic Foram swordsmanship may be excellent for beginners, but it certainly cannot overcome the original!’

Hamilton got into position, ready to counter Ronan’s Foram footwork. He kept waiting until Ronan was right in front of him.

Swish!

The moment Ronan was in front of Hamilton, the latter thrust his sword forward like a rhino charging with its horn. However, Ronan was nowhere to be seen.

“...!”

Ronan suddenly disappeared from Hamilton’s field of view, as if he had just evaporated. Immediately afterward, Hamilton felt a cold, murderous presence behind him.

‘Behind me?’

He quickly turned his body around. However, the tip of Roanus already moved toward his face, almost touching his nose.

Swish!

Ronan swung his blade against Hamilton’s face. However, the latter managed to tilt his head back just in time to barely avoid getting his face slashed apart. He got away with just a long-cut mark on his left cheek.

Drip, drip...

Blood dripped on the floor. This previous attack proved that Ronan was fighting with the intent to kill. He had swung his sword as if trying to slice Hamilton’s head in two.

Hamilton turned around completely and took a few steps back to distance himself from Ronan.

“You bastard! What do you think you’re doing!?”

Hamilton knew he had challenged Ronan to a sparring match, not to a death match. As Hamilton huffed in frustration, Ronan spoke up as though he had known that his brother would act out.

“I went with that move because I thought you’d evade it.”

“What?”

“If you’ve mastered the fundamentals of Foram swordsmanship, shouldn’t you be able to naturally avoid this type of attack?”

“F-fundamentals?! How do you know about the fundamentals?”

“Did you think I wouldn’t find out? Here comes my next attack, big brother.”

With that, Ronan bolted at Hamilton to close the gap between them. Hamilton hurriedly amassed his Aura and unleashed his sword energy to prepare for the incoming attack.

Bang!

A dense cloud of dust billowed from the ground as Ronan rushed at his older brother, not slowing down in the slightest.

“H-how in the world?!”

Sword energy functioned in a similar fashion to metals; stronger sword energy would overcome a weaker sword energy just like more durable metals would graze the softer ones.

Between the two brothers, the one with the stronger sword energy was, of course, Ronan.

Ronan didn’t try to avoid Hamilton’s sword and didn’t slow down because he was confident in the sword energy that enveloped him. When Ronan finally got in front of Hamilton again, he looked at him with a cold, ghostly face, warning him, “Block this.”

With that, Ronan swung his Roanus in a downward arch, and Hamilton instinctively raised the Poseira to parry the attack.

Slice!

The sharp, vibrant sound of steel on steel echoed through the sparring hall.

Ronan felt something sturdy at the tip of his sword. He could tell that he had managed to slash Hamilton.

And then...

...

Tzz...

Tzz...!

Bzz!

It felt like time had stopped in the sparring hall. The sound of the waning Aura broke the silence, letting the spectators know that the previous attack had been the last.

“Seems like it’s over...”

With his arms folded to his chest, Iselan kept his eyes on the two brothers. The fighting had lasted only two rounds, and it seemed like the victor was already decided.

Thud!

Hamilton fell to his knees, his mouth half-open, his eyes twitching in shock.

“Huh...?”

The sword afterimages engraved into his sight were most definitely the marks of the grim reaper, signifying his impending death. As the seconds went by, Hamilton instinctively thought he was already dead.

He was so terrified that he wet his pants, urine pooling at his feet. However, another couple of seconds passed, and yet nothing happened to him. Instead, the weight he was holding was reduced by half.

‘Po-Poseira...?’

It wasn’t Hamilton who had been slashed. It was the Poseira.

There was only one Poseira in the entire world, and it was the sword that his father had bestowed on him as proof of his heirship to the Foram family. It was also a family treasure that he was planning to pass on to his son later on.

However, the Poseria was shattered.

Click.

Ronan sheathed his Roanus before approaching Hamilton, who was on his knees, and then looked him in the eyes.

“Did I surprise you?”

“Y-y-you...!”

“As of today, I am no longer a Foram. I abandon the name, Hamilton!”

“...!”

“Next time you see me again, show me respect! I’m a year older than you.”

This was the exact moment when Ronan Foram became just Ronan.