Koji Fights The World - Chapter 24 Saber Enlightenmen

“Koji, let’s stop the saber training for today. You and Zelea should get some rest. You will go with our friends from the eastern kingdom on a trip to the mountains tomorrow morning,” Heretrios reminded them.

The two lamias released their arms and turned toward the prince.

“You’re right, brother,” Zelea replied with a nod.

“And you, Daethix, should not display your affection so publicly. Most of my men are smitten with you, who is the number one beauty in our kingdom. For the sake of my men’s morale, I ask that you avoid kissing Koji publicly until you consummate your Bonding Ritual,” the prince continued.

Princess Daethix glared at him. “Hmph! Who do you think you’re talking to? I am Daethix Colarte Nephosia, the next Queen of Nephosia! Why should I care a whit about the feelings of your men? If anything, I should kiss Koji in public more often! Not to torment your men per se, but to make them stop having wet dreams about me!” she yelled.

Heretrios’ jaws dropped. As the eldest of Queen Herecia’s children, he tried his best to act as a role model for how members of the Royal Family should behave in public. But now, Daethix was giving him several big face slaps! Controlling his angry with great difficulty, Heretrios pointed his finger at her and said, “Without the support of loyal soldiers of Nephosia, you won’t have a kingdom to rule over.”

Daethix harrumphed aloud and turned her face away from him. However, her silence revealed her tacit agreement with his stance. She grabbed Koji’s hand and said, “Let’s go somewhere private.”

However, Zelea grabbed Koji’s other hand and said, “Koji was planning to return to the Royal Library to finish reading The Art of Saber Defense.”

Both lamias turned their faces in unison and stared at Koji. “Choose,” they demanded.

Koji smiled apologetically at Daethix. “Senior Mao has been holding the book in reserve. I wish to finish reading it and release the book for other library users,” he answered.

Daethix made a face, and she threw his hand aside as if it was a piece of shit. “Then go!” she hissed and slithered away.

Prince Heretrios looked at Koji and shrugged. He quickly followed his ill-tempered sister to guard her.

“Let’s go, Koji,” Zelea said with a bright smile and pulled on his hand. She was so happy that she won this round against big sister! Zelea tried hard to stifle her giggle.

The couple walked around the courtyard and entered the Royal Library.

Senior Mao quickly showed up in front of them. “Ah, welcome back!” he greeted with a bow to the royal couple. He led them to the Reading Room.

Koji noticed The Art of Saber Defense and a new writing pad on his desk! “Thank you,” he told the librarian and cupped his hands. Koji was surprised that the man trusted his word and reserved his table.

Senior Mao smiled politely. He knew what the young man was thinking. It was a simple matter for the librarian to exercise his authority to reserve the desk until the Prince Consort’s return. While Mao would have lost face if the young man did not return to the library this afternoon, the gambit was worthwhile in the librarian’s eyes to deepen Senior Mao’s relationship with the future King of Nephosia. Thus, Mao was giddy in his heart at winning the small gamble and currying favor with Koji.

The young man quietly sat in his seat. He turned the pages of the book to his bookmark and resumed reading. This last portion of the book offered advanced topics in saber defense and provided various scenarios which required the reader to exercise his mind. For example, if the defender was facing a polearm, a dagger, a sword, and a bow, which attack should he block first? The answer was none; the author advised to use light footwork to evade and make his enemies target each other in friendly fire.

Furthermore, in a fight against multiple unfamiliar enemies, one should observe their movements to identify the least skillful attacker and then target this person first. The goal was to reduce the number of opponents on the battlefield ASAP. A lot of material in this section was intuitive to Koji, but occasionally, he read some useful insight and jotted notes in his writing pad.

When Koji finally closed the book, he felt he had gained a deeper appreciation for the saber and its utility for offense and defense. Even though the book emphasized the defensive perspective, Koji could take advantage of how a saber user presents his form to find the cracks in his saber defense. This kind of study was similar to a doctor using his medical knowledge to both heal and harm people.

The young patron closed his eyes as he imagined various saber forms in his mind. Suddenly, Koji felt inspired and opened his eyes. “Let’s leave,” he said with urgency in his voice and stood up.

Zelea, who was cultivating while sitting next to him, opened her eyes. “Okay,” she answered.

The two quietly left the Reading Room.

Senior Mao reappeared before them some halfway to the exit. “Are you finished with the book?” he asked politely.

“Yes, I am,” Koji nodded with a smile. “I need to spend time practicing the saber in the courtyard. I won’t return to the library tomorrow,” he noted.

The librarian bowed and led out of the building.

Once Koji entered the courtyard, he walked toward the storehouse on the right side. “Please hold this,” he said and passed his writing pad to Zelea.

Koji pulled his saber out of its case and closed his eyes. He began to execute the forms he witnessed in his mind. He started with a simple thrust at the opponent’s chest, followed by a turn of his wrist for a block, a southeast-to-northwest uppercut swing, and a left-to-right cut. His arms moved freely and continuously for the next ten minutes as he melded offense with defense. All the while, his eyes remained closed.

Soon, the guards noticed Koji and stared at him. The men were shocked by the sword dance they were witnessing. They recognized Koji as the new pupil of Prince Heretrios and felt awed by the young man’s display of intimate familiarity with the saber. In their trained eyes, the weapon felt like an extension of his arm! For a student to gain such a profound understanding of the saber in only a half-week, the witnesses thought that Koji was a prodigy in the saber!

When the young man finally dropped his arms, he heard thunderous applause. He opened his eyes and realized that the guards had been watching him.

“Here,” Zelea said as she handed him the weapon case which Koji had dropped during his saber practice.

“Thank you,” Koji replied with a smile as he accepted the item from her.

The men wanted to cross swords with him to test his skill. But none dared for fear of losing to him. Thus, the guards returned to their practice drills.

“Aiyah! You are all sweaty now,” the princess admonished her husband. “Let’s go to the bathhouse right now!” Zelea ordered. She grabbed his hand and entered the forecourt. The couple quickly walked around the throne and reached the back exit of the building.

The guards at the exit saluted the royal couple.

When Zelea came across a servant, she raised her hand to draw the girl’s attention. “Prepare for our arrival at the bathhouse,” she ordered.

“Yes, Princess!” the girl bowed and scurried off.

The lamia leisurely strolled through the pathways of the palace to give more time for the servants to prepare. Princess Zelea arrived at the bathhouse approximately fifteen minutes later.

A group of attendants waited at the entrance. They bowed deeply and opened the door for the royal couple to enter.

Just like last time, the attendants led each guest to a separate table and helped Zelea and Koji disrobe. Each person received a relaxing massage for approximately twenty minutes. However, Koji did not get a happy ending this time. Then the patron received a thick towel to cover their naked body and entered the pool.

Koji followed Zelea across the water and finally settled on a spot furthest away from the attendants. The couple sat next to each other and leaned their backs against the wall.

After a few minutes of quiet relaxation, the bond keeper spoke up. “Koji, can you read your menu screen aloud?” Zelea requested politely. The information on a person’s menu was highly confidential, and only the owner can retrieve his menu report. Thus, she asked him directly to retrieve this information.

Koji immediately called up the Menu screen, and read aloud:

“Name: Koji Adalwin Becker

Age: 19

Power: 8,000

Qi: 4,000

Rank: 5

Skills: Di-Mak Martial Arts Tier 3 (4/10)

Wing Chun Martial Arts Tier 3 (9/10)

Body Refinement Tier 3 (9/10)

Indominable Spirit Tier 2 (2/10)

Qi Perception Tier 2 (6/10)

Hurricane Kick Tier 1 (8/10)

Saber Proficiency Tier 2 (9/10)”

Zelea’s eyes widened in surprise upon hearing the report. The last time she checked, Koji was at the Fourth Rank. The Rank reflects a person’s overall skill and experience. For the First Rank, a person must achieve an accumulative ten points in any ability. The Second Rank requires an additional twenty points beyond the previous ten. The Third Rank requires thirty more points, and so forth.

Furthermore, Tier 1 and 2 were considered the Beginner-Tier in a skill or proficiency. Tier 3, 4, and 5 were Intermediate-Tiers which required further enlightenment. Tier 6 through 8 were Advanced-Tiers; Tier 9 and 10 were Expert-Tiers. Anything above Tier 10 was a Master in the art. For a young person like Koji to reach Rank 5, this was considered an outstanding achievement.

Furthermore, the princess was astounded by Koji’s weapon proficiency in the Saber. He started learning the sword only a half-week ago. But now, he was on the cusp of entering the Intermediate-Tier in Saber! If the guards learn of this, they will protest to the gods for this unfair favoritism!

Koji saw the weird expression on her face, and he became concerned. “Is something wrong, Zelea?” he asked, interrupting her train of thought.

“Haha,” she laughed nervously. “No, nothing’s wrong. Why would there be anything wrong?”

The Bonder knew she wasn’t truthful to him. But Koji declined to press her on the matter. He tactfully changed the topic. “What is the relationship between the lamias and centaurs?” he inquired.

Zelea was startled by the question. “What do you mean?”

“I’m your husband and part of the Royal Family of Nephosia, right?” he asked.

“Yes,” she nodded.

“Are we in conflict with whatever country Mylia represents?”

“Oh, you mean Sinys? Um, we have no enmity with them,” Zelea answered.

Koji was relieved at this answer because he wished to learn saber techniques from Mylia. If centaurs and lamias were enemies, then he would have to decline her offer to provide him pointers.