The person who taught Adam Bennett swordsmanship was not his father, but his uncle Calvin Bailey, a notorious playboy in the imperial capital, famed as the sharp-tongued swordsman. Back when Calvin Bailey·伦达克 was still a student at the Imperial Military Academy, his favorite pastime was dueling others to win over women. Every time he utterly defeated an opponent, he would humiliate them so thoroughly that they would never dare return to seek justice.

　　"Defeating someone with swordsmanship is far less satisfying than defeating them with words. The former will make your opponent train harder to seek revenge, but the latter will make them avoid you every time they see you!"

　　This rather devious philosophy was what Adam Bennett learned from his uncle Calvin Bailey while studying swordsmanship—the most famous womanizer in the imperial capital. However, Adam Bennett did not like being a villain and, being a low-key person, rarely used such tactics to provoke his enemies.

　　Adam Bennett had always disagreed with his uncle’s views, believing that if your swordsmanship was inferior to your opponent’s, such behavior was just asking for humiliation. Even if your opponent was not eloquent, it wouldn’t be hard for them to kick those hurtful words right back at you.

　　It wasn’t until one time, after losing badly in a sword match against an upperclassman, that his uncle Calvin Bailey burst out laughing and said something that made the indignant young man suddenly see the light.

Chapter Eleven: Always Following You

　　At that time, Calvin Bailey said, "When your swordsmanship is only seventy percent of your opponent’s, but your confidence is double theirs, the scales of victory often tip in your favor. Every time I mock my opponent, I find that my sword is imbued with an unmatched confidence, allowing me to defeat them with even more flair."

　　After hearing these words from his uncle Calvin Bailey, the very next day Adam Bennett ran into the upperclassman who had defeated him. Throwing caution to the wind, he taunted his opponent. When the other drew his sword in anger, Adam Bennett burst out laughing, made an extremely arrogant gesture by pointing his sword tip at the ground, and loudly declared that whoever lost would have to crawl under the other’s crotch—a deeply humiliating act.

　　Whether or not Calvin Bailey’s theory was truly correct, at that moment Adam Bennett did feel an unmatched confidence in his sword, while his opponent performed far below his usual standard. In less than ten exchanges, Adam Bennett knocked the sword from his opponent’s hand, and in the end, the other had to apologize to Adam Bennett to avoid the humiliation of crawling under his crotch.

　　Although that duel took place in a remote location with no witnesses, it was a great learning experience for Adam Bennett. During his time with the thieves’ guild, he often used this tactic in duels and never lost. Many enemies with better sword skills and more combat experience than him lost due to agitation and never dared to challenge him again.

　　This time, using the same trick, Adam Bennett encountered a rare thick-skinned opponent. This special skill was the perfect counter to sharp-tongued swordsmanship, rendering all of Adam Bennett’s taunts useless. Instead of demoralizing his enemy, it only made Luke Thompson’s face redder and his expression more excited.

　　"It seems the saying that adversity brings out one’s potential is true. If this weren’t a life-or-death battle, in an ordinary academy duel, my words would have been enough to make Captain Luke Thompson throw down his sword and leave in shame—he might even have tripped and fallen in embarrassment."

　　Despite having the upper hand, Adam Bennett did not let his guard down. In his other hand, he still held an ordinary longsword, though he hadn’t used it yet. In such an intense fight, this easily led the opponent to believe he only had one sword. This little trick was also taught by his uncle Calvin Bailey. With a vigorous flourish—a flashy but not very lethal move—Adam Bennett drew Luke Thompson’s attention, then unleashed the strike he had prepared in advance.

　　This longsword, forged from refined steel, was a fine blade, but it was no match for a magical lightsaber. So Adam Bennett had no intention of risking a direct clash; instead, he let go and hurled the weapon like a giant flying dagger.

　　When Adam Bennett practiced this move, he could pierce a galloping warhorse with a single throw. As his trump card in duels, he had never actually used it in a real fight. The duels Calvin Bailey participated in were always between nobles, fighting for honor or women. Those crazed opponents were determined to take down this shameless scoundrel at any cost, so the unique sword techniques he developed were naturally sinister and deadly.

　　Young people studying at the academy all had bright futures ahead of them; none would risk their lives in a duel. Many of the sword techniques Adam Bennett learned only came in handy during his time with the thieves’ guild. But this flying sword move was so wild that he had never used it, not even then—this was his first time.

　　A trump card, once used too often, ceases to be a trump card. Adam Bennett understood this all too well.