Koji Fights The World - Chapter 23 Swordplay With Heretrios

“Why don’t I take you to the bathhouse?” the king proposed. “I’m sure you worked up a sweat from the match.”

“That’s fine,” Mylia agreed readily. She didn’t want to linger in the courtyard and give her followers an opportunity to make trouble for Koji. Thus, the sooner her entourage departs from this place, the better.

“Please follow me,” King Aphraphus said and walked side-by-side with the Sinysian Ambassador to the inner sections of the palace. Abruptly, he turned around and looked at the rest of the centurions. “Unfortunately, the floor of our palace is wood, and it cannot support the weight of so many centurions,” he noted aloud. “Would it be alright if my servants take your followers to a nearby inn? The Royal Treasury will pay for their accommodations,” the king quickly added.

Mylia turned around and looked at her followers as she considered the king’s words. She remembered seeing the raised platform upon which the palace stood. It would be troublesome and embarrassing if her men punched a big hole and fell through the floor because of their collective weight. Thus, the Ambassador acceded to King Aphraphus’ suggestion. “That’s fine,” she agreed.

Mylia turned toward her followers. “I will spend the night in the Nephosian Palace. You are free to do whatever you wish today. Shop, eat, sleep, and rest. But remember that you represent the Eastern Kingdom of Sinys; your actions will reflect on the rest of us. You will return to this courtyard tomorrow morning after breakfast. Dismissed!” she barked.

The centurions saluted and exited through the gate.

“Your men are well trained and obedient,” King Aphraphus praised with admiration.

Mylia offered a faint smile. “It’s more like herding cats,” she replied and shook her head.

The two continued walking and chatting at the same time as they entered the forecourt.

Prince Heretrios clapped his hands. “The show is over. Return to your practice drills!” he ordered.

The guards saluted and walked away from him. They sneaked glances at Koji and praised him in their hearts for defeating the ambassador in a friendly match. They marveled at the young man’s ability to maintain his calm in the face of her rampaging. He gained great face and helped retain the honor of Nephosia.

“Here,” the prince said as he returned the saber to Koji, who bowed in appreciation. “Come with me,” Heretrios ordered and led Koji and Zelea to the area in front of the armory.

To Koji’s surprise, his instructor did not enter the storehouse. Instead, the prince freed his saber from its case at his left hip. “I’m going to test your five basic saber defensive forms,” Heretrios said. Once his student pulled his saber out of its sheath, the instructor attacked! Clang-clang-clang-clang-clang! Within a single breath, Prince Heretrios launched five attacks!

Koji easily tracked these attacks with his eyes. He executed the defensive formations perfectly and remained motionless as Heretrios stopped attacking.

“Very good,” the instructor praised. “Now, I’m going to launch various combos. Keep defending!” he ordered. In the blink of an eye, Prince Heretrios stood in front of his opponent and launched an astonishing number of attacks. He started with a horizontal left-to-right swing, then a thrust to the heart, followed by a quick jab to the throat, another jab to the face, an earth-to-heaven swing, a quarter-moon dip to the hip, another thrust to the same spot, and finally, a slash to the thigh!

Koji noticed that his opponent used exaggerated arm movement to disguise his attacks. However, the defender saw through the motion; Koji used his Qi Perception to follow the attacks and easily blocked them.

Finally, Prince Heretrios dropped his arm, and his saber pointed at the ground. “Excellent!” he praised. “You have passed the Beginner stage of Saber fighting. Shall we move on to the Intermediate stage?” he asked.

“Please continue,” Koji answered with a bow from his waist. Since he was holding a weapon, he couldn’t cup his hands.

“Counterattack!” the teacher ordered and started attacking his pupil.

Koji blocked the attacks but couldn’t find an opening to counterattack!

“What’s the matter, Koji? Are you satisfied in reaching the Intermediate-tier?” he taunted.

The defender kept a neutral facial expression. Koji realized that Heretrios was trying to goad him into making a mistake and leaving an opening. The student smiled as he decided to grant Heretrios’ wish. Koji began to create wide swings and left himself open to bait his opponent.

However, Prince Heretrios understood his opponent’s aim and refused to bite. Besides, he felt confident of his physical condition and believed that Heretrios would outlast his opponent in a sword fight. Thus, the practice session stretched from ten minutes to fifteen, twenty, twenty-five, and finally, thirty minutes.

Princess Daethix quietly stood next to her younger sister. “They’re still going at it?” the third princess marveled and shook her head in disbelief. She understood what her older brother was doing. However, Daethix was surprised that Koji managed to keep up with him!

“Koji will outlast Heretrios,” a voice interjected.

The two lamias turned toward the speaker, and their eyes widened with surprise: it was their father!

King Aphraphus had snuck up on the two lamias without notice. Even worse, Ambassador Mylia was behind him! The two newcomers traded knowing grins of delight. Mission accomplished!

The two daughters returned their attention to the combatants. Sure enough, they noticed that Heretrios was breathing harder! His arm movements began to lose their clarity and purpose.

Abruptly, Koji made his move! “Clang!” With overwhelming power, he slammed the flat portion of his blade against his opponent’s wrist.

The pain weakened Heretrios’ sword grip, and his weapon flew across the courtyard! The next instant, he felt Koji’s saber against his neck! “You win,” the prince groused with resignation. Good thing he had the foresight to engage Koji in front of the storehouse. If his men witnessed Heretrios’ defeat in saber, the prince’s specialty, then he would suffer a tremendous loss of face.

“Clap-clap-clap!” Prince Heretrios froze. He slowly turned. He winced upon seeing the witnesses to his defeat. The last thing he wanted was to lose in front of his father!

During this interval, Koji had run after the errant saber to retrieve it. The student bowed from his waist as he handed the weapon back to his sifu. “Thank you for your instructions, teacher!”

The prince smiled as he accepted the weapon and returned it to the sword case.

Koji finally noticed the king and the centaur; he became confused by their presence. “I thought you went to the bathhouse,” he said.

“We did,” King Aphraphus replied. “But Mylia wanted to watch your saber practice with Heretrios. So we took a quick bath and then came back out here,” he explained.

“How long have you studied the saber?” Mylia asked.

“I started this week,” Koji answered honestly.

The centaur’s eyes widened in surprise. The saber was one of the most popular weapons in Sinys, and most citizens received saber training during childhood. However, Koji demonstrated a very high degree of proficiency in this weapon, and Mylia was impressed by the young man’s ability to learn and absorb his lessons quickly. “If there is time during our mission, I can offer you some pointers,” she proposed.

Koji cupped his hands and bowed. “This lowly one shall accept your kind offer.”

King Aphraphus clapped his hands. “Koji is in the middle of his training. Why don’t we go to my wife’s garden and listen to her play the zither?” he proposed.

Mylia kept a neutral facial expression. She wanted to learn more about Koji, who was an apparent prodigy in her eyes and a formidable enemy if relations between the two countries turn sour in the future. However, the ambassador could not refuse the king’s offer without slapping his face publicly. Thus, she had to accept it. “I haven’t paid my respects to Queen Herecia yet. I welcome the opportunity to do so,” Mylia nodded.

“Excellent! Right this way,” the host replied and waved his hand toward the forecourt. The host and visitor walked side-by-side and left the courtyard.

Daethix frowned at the centaur. “Little sis, is it my imagination, or does the ambassador harbor romantic interest in my fiance?” she asked while facing Zelea.

The other lamia winced at the memory of the woman’s sudden kiss with her husband. “You weren’t here when Mylia had a friendly, unarmed match against Koji,” Zelea answered.

“Who proposed the fight and why?” the first princess hissed and narrowed her eyes in anger.

“It’s my fight,” Koji admitted sheepishly. “When Zelea and I passed through the forecourt, father-in-law was entertaining the ambassador and her entourage. She caught me staring at her and took offense. I supposed she challenged me expecting to beat me up. But I was lucky to win the fight,” he recalled.

“Lucky my tail,” Zelea huffed dismissively. She hated the fact that her husband was so meek and humble. In her eyes, a man should take pride in his outstanding achievements! “Koji jumped on the centaur’s back and put her in a headlock. She lost consciousness, and that’s how he won the fight. But for some strange reason, Mylia took the loss very well. That hussy even kissed him on the mouth!” she hissed.

Daethix eyes became ablaze at the mention of the kiss. It was bad enough that Daethix had to share Koji’s lips with her sister. Now, she learned that another woman, a centaur at that, took his precious lips! She slithered forward and stood in front of her fiance. Abruptly, Daethix grabbed the back of Koji’s head, and she kissed him!

The nearby guards gasped. One of them became extremely jealous and angry. “Get away from the princess, bastard!” he yelled and thrust his spear point at Koji’s chest!

The target of this cowardly attack calmly used his Qi Perception to read the flow of Yang Qi. The flow of time slowed in Koji’s mind as he finalized a plan of action to counterattack. But first, he used a soft version of One-Inch Punch to push Princess Daethix out of the way with his left palm. If he dodged, the spear thrust would hit her!

Once Daethix was a safe distance away from him, Koji awaited the spear’s arrival the next split second. The defender relied on the Sticky Hands technique and used his right hand and wrist to deflect the spear point away from Koji’s body. At the same time, the defender channeled his Yang Qi to his legs as Koji launched a high kick to the attacker’s temple!

“Uoa~,” the guard yelled in surprise as the kick knocked his body to the side of the storehouse! BOOM! The force of Koji’s counterattack created a crater on the wall!

The other guards ran toward the traitor with their spears. However, they discovered that he already died from a crushed skull! Fear grew in their hearts as they turned in unison toward Koji, who stood with a calm expression as if nothing happened. “He’s dead,” one of the men pronounced.

Koji simply nodded. He targeted the assailant’s Upper Dantian; it would be a miracle for the man to survive!

However, Princess Daethix was incensed. “This man dared to attack my fiance and a member of the Royal Family. He has betrayed the crown, and his family must bear the consequences. Gather his entire family, even the children, and hang them over the wall! All roots of treason must be found and cut off!” she ordered.

“Yes, Princess!” the men saluted. They felt great shame because one of their own had attacked the Royal Family. Thus, they hardened their hearts to perform the harsh task their Goddess had given them.

“Leave us!” Daethix ordered.

“Yes, Princess!” The guards grabbed the carcass of the traitor and took him to the wall. He will be the first body hung by them.

Once the men left the vicinity, Princess Daethix approached Koji.

The young man saw the look of uncertainty in her eyes, and he spoke up. “I don’t blame you for the actions of a jealous man,” Koji said.

Daethix smiled in relief. Suddenly, she wrapped her arms around his back and gave him a tight hug. To her surprise, Zelea hugged the two of them.

“I’m glad the two of you are safe,” the fourth princess said.

Prince Heretrios stood nearby with a conflicted heart as he watched the group hug.