The Crown Prince That Sells Medicine - Chapter 17

The Crown Prince That Sells Medicine Chapter 17

Episode 17 Breaking expectations (2)

The showdown has begun.

The emperor’s solemn voice rang out. The eyes of hundreds of nobles and thousands of citizens were focused on one place.

The crown prince and the second prince were there.

Who will rush in first?

Probably the second prince, of course.

The moment everyone thinks so.

A metallic sound rang out of nowhere on the wide bridge.

Clang!

The sword fell to the floor. It was an iron sword for sparring held by Crown Prince Rachiel. Did you miss while blocking the 2nd prince’s sword attack? It wasn’t. The iron sword was placed by the crown prince himself.

No, it was thrown away.

“Are you sure… you’re giving up the fight?”

Second Prince Theodore’s eyebrows twitched. He felt relieved and disappointed at the same time.

‘As expected, brother, you chose not to overdo it.’

The crown prince, his half-brother, was always a patient. This situation of having to swing a sword at such a brother was a burden to my heart.

So I felt relieved.

But at the same time, I felt disappointed.

‘To come all the way here and look like that in front of so many people…’

His brother must have been very scared of that situation too. The pressure must have been considerable.

I did understand.

But I felt like this wasn’t a very good situation. Because the imperial lineage seemed to give up and retreat before the confrontation. The honor of the imperial family will be tarnished.

‘Then what should I do?’

Should I persuade and appease my brother so that everyone doesn’t hear about it? Should we protect the honor of the royal family by making them pick up their swords again and continuing the confrontation in a formal way?

I guess it has to be that way.

After making his decision, Theodore looked at his brother. I tried to speak softly of persuasion. But at that moment, he had to witness an unexpected sight.

…Sigh.

Brother Rachiel’s right hand, which placed the sword, moved. I grabbed the top handle inside the shield. The left arm was hung on the inner armrest to support the central part of the shield. I took a step back with my right foot and planted it firmly on the ground.

It was a firm fighting stance. At the same time, it was a defensive posture that seemed somewhat skillful.

The moment 2nd Prince Theodore saw that, he realized. That his brother is not giving up the fight at all. The act of just throwing away the sword was also a kind of choice and concentration.

‘Give up clumsy attacks. Instead, are you saying that you will pour all your capabilities into active defense?’

When I think about it, it was a wise choice.

Because my brother has never learned swordsmanship.

They must have thought that they would have no chance of winning against this side with such clumsy swordsmanship. So, he probably chose to withstand this attack with a large shield.

‘Because this fight doesn’t end with whether you win or lose. ‘Because it is a match under such conditions that the winner will be decided by whether or not you can last 5 minutes without collapsing.’

Solid defense instead of clumsy attack. The second prince secretly praised his half-brother’s choice.

‘That’s a great decision. So… I’ll make it easier for you by ending this fight as quickly as possible.’

Sreung!

Theodore’s sparring iron sword was drawn.

At the same time, his momentum changed.

Kiiiiing-!

The second prince’s heart roared.

A circle surrounding the heart flew wild.

The royal family’s vision, the dim mind, became a beast with ferocious force and awakened the blood vessels of the second prince’s entire body. Instigated. Break down all your defenses and chew away.

At that moment, the second prince’s foot kicked the ground.

Throw in!

The rush and sword strike took place simultaneously.

The second prince’s body was a sword, and the sword guided his body. It was a soft yet powerful slam with all his weight.

‘I’ll end this.’

The 2nd prince was sure.

It’s over.

There is no way to stop this.

No matter how big and strong his brother was with his shield, it was inevitable that he would not be able to stop this.

I firmly believed it and had no doubts.

‘Because this is not a blow that can be prevented even if you block it honestly.’

It was an honest truth.

His own physique overwhelms his brother’s. Compared to his sickly and small brother, he is much stronger. As such, he carried both overwhelming weight and strength and speed. Even mana was loaded. But what if you honestly block this attack with a shield?

It will inevitably collapse.

The shield will block the sword, but the body behind the shield will collapse. The forearm that could not withstand the impact will be broken. Your knees, unable to handle the shock, will buckle.

It would be nice if it didn’t fall backwards.

The 2nd prince prayed earnestly.

‘Please don’t just fall backwards. Just kneel down!’

He didn’t want his brother, a member of the royal family, to fall backwards and roll over in front of people. That’s why I chose to hit and push down.

Even if you lose, do it with dignity. So that you can kneel quietly in your place. In its own way, it was a considerate blow to the brothers.

However, his consideration was unexpectedly betrayed(?).

Sreuk.

Just before the sword hits the shield.

The angle of the shield was oddly distorted.

‘…hmm?’

The 2nd prince’s eyes wavered.

However, there was no time to modify the sword’s trajectory. His sword struck the shield. It scratched the shield and flowed out to the side.

Kwakagagak-!

“…!”

The weight, strength, speed, and mana placed on the sword. Not everything was properly transmitted to the shield. His sword just flowed down as if scraping the side of the shield that was sticking out at an angle.

‘…Did you get out of the way? To hit it?’

The 2nd prince was astonished.

‘how?’

Deflection was not an easy technique.

Both the angle and timing had to be perfect. It was an intermediate skill that also required joint control of the elbows and shoulder blades to handle the impact of the moment of deflection.

But his half-brother, the crown prince, did it. Eyes looking at us from beyond the shield. The prince’s vivid, glowing eyes revealed that fact very clearly.

‘It’s not a coincidence.’

Realized.

I couldn’t believe it.

But it was true.

The second prince was surprised for a moment.

‘But that won’t change the outcome of the game.’

Crack!

The hand holding the sword gained strength. His sword, which had flown out of the way to block, began to draw a ferocious trajectory again.

At the same time, Crown Prince Rachiel gritted his molars.

‘Wow, it’s harder than I thought.’

He tightened his grip on the handle of his shield. But I didn’t really feel the sense of strength. My entire hand was tingling.

It wasn’t just my hands that were tingling. The right wrist and forearm gripping the top handle. The left arm and left shoulder that support the shield. Even my back and thighs felt tingly.

Just once.

Even though I just dodged the blow, it was like that.

‘It’s much stronger and faster than I thought. ‘More than expected.’

Or is it because this body is relatively weak? Maybe it’s both.

‘But you can do it. ‘It’s not so much that it can’t be stopped.’

Crack!

I clenched my molars again.

Suddenly, a time from ten years ago came to mind.

He was a student of Oriental medicine. However, like my classmates, I did not become a public affairs doctor after graduation. No, there was no need for that. This was because I completed my military service before entering Oriental Medicine University.

‘I didn’t want to do that either, but…’

I couldn’t help it.

It happened that way because of family circumstances.

Anyway, I remembered the time when I was in my early twenties, when I was full of energy, and was called to serve by my country. At the time, he was a riot police officer. I got the shield because I had a decent physique.

Thanks to this, I had to become familiar with the aluminum shield that was in use at the time. How much sweat had to be shed while carrying a shield that weighed almost 7 kilograms.

‘I was sick of it.’

The training was intense.

Shield censorship.

Protest sites where we often attended.

I tried blocking all kinds of things with the shield. Wooden pieces and pipes, as well as bamboo spears and baseball bats, were basic items. I had the experience of blocking a variety of tools and objects, such as flails, nunchucks, glass bottles, bricks, picture frames, chains, bamboo knives, dog poop bags, etc., that made me look back on all kinds of human creativity.

‘Even me! This is the guy who blocked Rubber Duck and Canary Fish Sauce with a shield!’

He shouted and took a step back.

I hit the floor with my shield.

The center of gravity was lowered as much as possible.

Hold the top handle with your right hand. Hold the center handle with your left hand. The inner surface of the shield was supported with the left shoulder. With all his weight, he pressed the shield towards the ground.

Immediately after that, a powerful impact hit the bottom of the shield.

Wedge!

Immediately after the first strike was deflected, the second prince’s sword flew horizontally across the bottom and hit the bottom of the shield directly.

However, at that moment, Rakiel supported the shield with her body weight and turned the angle exquisitely. Using my whole body, as if I was trying to throw it away.

Kwa-tung!

The shield and Rachiel’s body were pushed half a step to the side.

But that’s it.

He maintained his posture without stumbling. This was thanks to the fact that more than half of the impact from the sword attack was directed to the side.

“…!”

The second prince’s eyes widened in astonishment.

However, just because Rachiel was not completely fine. At the same moment, Rachiel’s eyes were also frowning in pain.

‘I ended up spilling it… wow.’

My whole body felt numb.

Apart from the screaming muscles and joints, I felt like my energy was being sucked out. It wasn’t just my mood.

‘This is the power of the dark mind.’

Even when I dodged the first strike earlier.

Even when I just blocked a bottom hit.

The moment the shock occurred, I felt like my mana was being sucked out. Of course, he knew what this felt like. This was because it was something frequently mentioned in the novel ‘The Demon Sword Emperor’.

‘Characteristic mana absorption of Asurahan Mind’s technique.’

The royal family’s vision of a dark mind.

This mind method was specialized for the absorption and amplification of mana. Such characteristics are also evident during confrontation, and each time they exchange sword strikes, they tend to distract and absorb the opponent’s mana.

Like right now.

‘Wow. ‘This isn’t some kind of absorption method.’

I felt sick.

It reminded me of a technique I often saw in martial arts circles.

However, this felt even more terrible because it robbed me of mana while clashing weapons. But that’s why hope arose from somewhere in my heart.

‘The force of mana absorption is much stronger than I expected. If so… you can do it. ‘You can do it.’

Rachiel strengthened her will. I suppressed my rumbling stomach and watched the second prince’s third attack.

The 2nd prince was already charging a short distance away.

Taaaaat!

It seems like if you’re going to stop it, try blocking it.

It seems like if you can let this go, try it.

The second prince’s diagonal slash struck with intense force.

It was as expected.

The second prince was portrayed as fair and sincere in the novel. He looked just like that guy.

I didn’t trip over this leg. No attempt was made to remove the shield. They only showed their will to confidently defeat this side in a head-to-head match.

So I was glad.

It seemed.

I felt it.

Timing to defend and let go of shock. Also, the timing for mana to be absorbed at the moment of conflict.

‘This is your last chance.’

The third is the end.

I can’t hold on any longer.

This weak body is already at its limits.

So now we have to bet everything on this third defense. My physical strength and lower body have been trained over the past time. A shield prepared with great care and meticulousness. Plus the final preparations completed last night.

You have to pour everything into this moment.

‘as soon as… now!’

Tukkeong-!

The 2nd prince’s diagonal slash hit the shield.

At that moment, the shield snapped.

Like the previous two defenses.

I shed shock.

It was that moment.

The 2nd prince’s dark thoughts invaded my body. Their mana was stolen and absorbed without mercy. It was like the plunder of a merciless invader.

But I didn’t resist him.

Rather, the door was wide open.

A circle slot was activated.

[Activate the discharge function of slot 1.]

[Set the discharge amount.]

‘0.2 liters!’

I shouted with all my might.

At the same time, the circle slot here was opened. A large amount of the material stored in the slot was released.

Kiiiiing!

A strong liquor that will make even the worst drunkards speechless after just one sip. So, the hard liquor that Sir Gardin hesitated to bring last night. A bomb liquor mixed mercilessly with twenty such strong liquors was unleashed. I handed it over.

The 2nd prince’s shabby mind absorbed the bomb liquor. It was taken away defenselessly.

That moment.

“…big…huh hiccup?”

The 2nd prince’s 5th and 6th sons arbitrarily started a bomb liquor Amor party.