Chapter 37
[Translator - Peptobismal]
[Proofreader - Max]
Chapter 37
'Cali Draker.'
She was Zeke's oldest sister.
However, Zeke had rarely seen Cali Draker face-to-face in his previous life. The only times he saw her were from afar at clan events before entering the Cradle.
She was the eldest daughter of the Draker clan and one of the guardian knights of the Four Seasons Castle.
There were thousands of knights belonging to the Four Seasons Castle, but among them, there were less than ten guardian knights.
Even Abel Draker, who already had his own knight order, had not yet received the title of guardian knight.
So, the fact that Cali Draker, who was still in her thirties, was a guardian knight was a remarkable feat.
Cali Draker's achievements were indeed extraordinary.
Ison, the largest port city in Midland, had suffered from pirates in the South Sea for over a hundred years.
The pirates, based in the Death's Sea south of the Dorta Republic, were scattered in a cell-like organization, making it virtually impossible to completely eradicate them.
However, after Cali Draker became an official knight of the Draker clan, the problem was solved. The first thing she did was take care of these South Sea pirates.
She boarded the pirates' ships alone and slaughtered them all, chasing down those who fled and even wiping out those hiding on the islands.
Fighting back was useless, and so was running away.
Cali Draker quietly, decisively, and thoroughly eradicated the South Sea pirates, a problem that no one had been able to solve.
Five years later, pirates were nowhere to be found, at least in Ison.
Thanks to Cali Draker, the sea route of the Central Sea, which extended to the Dorta Republic and beyond to the Eastern Empire, was cleared.
In recognition of this achievement, Cali Draker received the title of guardian knight at the youngest age ever.
With Cali Draker appearing at the special lecture, the students began to get excited again.
Duke was flustered as all the attention was suddenly taken away by Cali Draker.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Headmaster Flaubert gestured to Duke to quickly come down from the podium.
Duke, having lost his place to the rising star, trudged down from the podium.
The headmaster cleared his throat and went up to the podium again.
"Today, we have a special guest, Cali Draker, famous as the Silver Knight. Since the previous lecture went on for a long time, we'll quickly invite the Silver Knight."
Cali Draker politely greeted Flaubert and then went up to the podium.
The platinum-blonde female knight in silver armor stood before the students with a dignified posture.
She looked like a Valkyrie from legends.
She spoke to the students without using the voice amplifier.
"Attention!"
Her resounding voice startled the students, and they straightened up without realizing it.
Even Headmaster Flaubert flinched, so one can imagine how the ordinary students felt.
She then bowed respectfully towards Duke.
"To the esteemed Black Knight, Sir Duke Draker, I offer my greetings first. Everyone, salute Sir Duke Draker!"
The students who graduated from the academy reflexively jumped to their feet and saluted Duke.
The students who didn't graduate from the academy hesitated, following the salute awkwardly or glancing at Cali Draker.
Only after the greetings did she stand at the podium again and begin her speech.
"Gentlemen, I looked around Valhalla while coming to this special lecture today. And I am disappointed in you today."
Cali Draker was a graduate of Valhalla before Flaubert became headmaster.
At that time, the headmaster of Valhalla was from the Draker clan, so the discipline was stricter than it is now.
She said in a stern voice,
"The peace of the continent today was not achieved easily. It is a peace built on the blood of our senior knights."
Compared to Cali Draker, Duke Draker was a milder version of a Draker.
For three long hours, she emphasized the spirit of chivalry, the importance of strict discipline, and the necessity of rigorous training with a stern and serious attitude.
Flaubert, listening to Cali Draker's lecture, covered his face with his hands.
'Damn Drakers.'
Flaubert resolved never to have another Draker as a lecturer.
The students, who had been happy to see the Silver Knight in person, gradually turned pale.
The special lecture finally ended after three hours of verbal assault, and they all left the lecture hall, exhausted and zombified.
Zeke, surprisingly, enjoyed Cali Draker's lecture.
'It's strict, but she has a point.'
Since Zeke had spent his entire life on the battlefield, he understood why she was saying those things.
Rather, Zeke could feel the warmth and consideration hidden within Cali Draker's words.
There would be no reason for her to give such advice if she didn't care.
"Hey, bro. Want to listen to the new song I wrote over five hours?"
Zeke shook his head at Diego's strange music.
As he was about to leave the lecture hall after listening to Diego's bizarre music, someone approached him.
"Zeke."
He turned around to find Cali Draker standing there.
Zeke bowed his head to Cali Draker.
"It is an honor to meet you, Lady Cali Draker, guardian knight of the Four Seasons Castle."
Cali Draker returned Zeke's polite greeting.
She said to Zeke,
"Could you spare me a moment?"
Her tone was stiff, as expected of a Draker.
Zeke left Diego, who looked disappointed, and followed Cali.
He thought she was going to invite him for a cup of tea or something, but surprisingly, Cali Draker took Zeke to the training ground.
Cali Draker stood in the training ground and said to Zeke,
"Prepare yourself."
Without another word, Cali Draker instructed him to prepare for a spar.
Zeke didn't know her intentions, but he decided to go along with her.
He drew Bahamut from his back.
At the same time, Cali Draker also drew her pure white sword.
It was a sword made entirely of mithril, a gift from the Holy Kingdom.
The Holy Kingdom, which had suffered the most from the pirates, had this mithril armor and sword specially crafted and gifted to Cali to express their gratitude for eradicating the pirates.
As expected of the wealthy Holy Kingdom, they were generous.
Thus, Cali Draker, clad in pure white armor and valiantly wielding a snow-white sword, earned the title of the Silver Knight.
Cali Draker pointed her sword at Zeke and said,
"Show me your full strength, Zeke Draker."
At Cali's words, Zeke pointed his sword at her.
"Then I won't hold back."
Zeke charged at Cali with Phantom Step.
Clang!
Zeke's sword clashed with Cali's.
Cali matched Zeke's every move as he moved swiftly, leaving afterimages.
As Cali swung her pure white sword, it left behind brilliant afterimages like blooming flowers.
It was indeed the skill of the most beautiful and powerful knight on the continent.
Whoosh!
Zeke, sensing that Cali Draker's skills were extraordinary, stepped back.
It wasn't just advanced swordsmanship she had learned, but true skill honed through actual combat.
Zeke, who had lowered his skill level to that of a Blue Knight, was careful not to be discovered.
If he was careless, the fact that he was hiding his true strength could reach the ears of the head of the clan.
If news spread that he had already reached the level of a Red Knight, the clan would surely try to tie him down and prevent him from leaving.
That would interfere with Zeke's plan to leave this place as soon as possible and freely build his own forces.
'When I can control the Drakers as I wish, then I will return to the clan.'
Whoosh!
As Zeke regained his focus, Cali, seeing that he was only keeping his distance and not attacking, took the initiative.
Crash!
Cali Draker's strength was her greatest asset.
Her sword contained far more power than that of ordinary knights.
Whoosh!
Zeke parried Cali's sword, found an opening, and thrust his sword.
His body moved reflexively to counterattack, thanks to the countless sparring sessions he had with King Kaisir, where he was beaten to a pulp.
Cali flinched at Zeke's sharp attack and retreated.
She was surprised that her youngest brother possessed such outstanding talent.
"Excellent."
A spontaneous compliment escaped her lips, despite her usual reluctance to praise.
Cali gripped her sword and focused her aura.
Wooong!
A pure white aura blade, resembling her, enveloped her sword.
She had raised her aura to properly gauge Zeke's skills.
As Cali began to use her aura in earnest, Zeke also took a deep breath and summoned his aura blade.
The atmosphere between the two was different now.
Ping!
They began to exchange blows at an invisible speed, passing each other by.
Clang!
Cali pressured Zeke with her brilliant swordsmanship.
Zeke dodged Cali's attacks with Phantom Step, looking for an opening.
Although she couldn't compare to Kaisir, she was undoubtedly an excellent swordswoman with a good balance of offense and defense.
Slash!
Zeke deflected Cali's sword and used the Dragon Slayer Technique.
Even the simple Half Moon Slash was incredibly powerful when used by Zeke.
Cali's body was pushed back even though she blocked it with her sword.
With her attack blocked, Zeke used Phantom Step to aim for Cali's blind spot and thrust his sword.
Cali gathered her sword to her chest and concentrated her energy.
Wooong!
Suddenly, a tremendous force surged from Cali's body.
In fact, before Cali earned the title of Silver Knight, she already had a nickname that was on everyone's lips.
The Great Strength Sword
Those who had faced her sword said it felt like facing a giant's swing.
That terrifying aura enveloped her entire body.
At the same time, the aura blade surrounding her sword grew to the size of a bastard sword.
She swung her Great Strength Sword towards Zeke.
Crash!
Zeke hurriedly dodged her Great Strength Sword with Phantom Step.
The shockwave was so powerful that the floor of the training ground cracked.
Zeke pretended to be exhausted and pointed his sword at Cali, shouting.
"Haaa!"
Zeke acted as if he was gathering all the aura in his body.
At the same time, he intentionally made his aura blade rough instead of neatly compressing it.
The aura blade formed on Zeke's sword in the shape of flames, as if fire was blazing.
It was the 'Sword Flame' technique he had created when he couldn't properly control his aura in the past.
But its power was not to be underestimated.
Cali's expression changed as she saw Zeke's Sword Flame.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Cali's Great Strength Sword and Zeke's Sword Flame clashed.
Crash!
Zeke and Cali were both thrown back simultaneously.
"Ugh!"
Zeke collapsed, clutching his chest as if his aura had backfired.
At the same time, he manipulated his blood flow to make his face pale.
Cali, sheathing her sword, quickly approached him and handed him a potion.
"Zeke, drink this quickly."
Although Zeke was perfectly healthy, he took the potion Cali gave him and swallowed it with difficulty.
He then returned his complexion to normal, as if he had barely managed to suppress his internal injuries.
"Thank you, Lady Cali Draker."
"Call me sister."
Zeke was surprised by Cali's words.
In the Draker clan, even blood-related siblings were nothing more than competitors to each other and never acted affectionately.
The fact that Cali Draker, the first in line to become the head of the clan, was reaching out to Zeke, who wasn't sponsored by any clan, was a rare sight in the Draker clan.
"Understood, sister."
Cali Draker looked at Zeke with wonder in her eyes.
"I heard you became a Blue Knight at the youngest age in the clan, and you truly have amazing skills. Even Abel wasn't this strong at your age."
Before Zeke, the record for the youngest Blue Knight was held by Abel Draker.
The continent was shaken when Abel became a Blue Knight at the age of nineteen, so one can imagine the impact of Zeke becoming one at fifteen.
Cali continued in a serious tone,
"Zeke, I originally didn't come here to say this, but after meeting you, I changed my mind."
"What do you mean, sister?"
"I want to make you an offer."
She looked at Zeke and said,
"Help me stop Abel Draker, the cruel and merciless Knight of Slaughter."
[Translator - Peptobismal]
[Proofreader - Max]