Chapter 100: Is it funny that the 100-year-old sword was cut in half?

Seeing the blue-haired boy appear, the previously intimidated merchants all looked up with hope, and the surrounding bandits were taken aback.

Of course, the astonishment wasn’t limited to the people present.

Even the observing Charlotte’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Wow! That boy… is he Dad Roland?”

“That’s right, that’s your Dad Roland. He’s only eighteen right now, so he looks a little green. But after going through all sorts of trials, he’ll become a very powerful swordsman!”

“If he’s going to become so powerful, why did he end up in the merchant business?”

Charlotte was puzzled. Since she was born into this world, she had never seen her Sunday-look alike father touch any blade; he hadn’t even touched a kitchen knife.

All three meals were made by the housemaids. Of course, Mom Rhynes would occasionally cook a feast herself to satisfy their appetites.

“Hehe, that’s a secret! If Charlotte wants to know, just keep watching.”

Charlotte frowned. Her Mom Rhynes was teasing her again.

Although Mom Rhynes hadn’t told her directly, Charlotte could guess the general truth: something must have changed Roland’s mindset during the time he spent with Mom Rhynes.

Charlotte decided to continue watching the battle happening on the outskirts of the forest, eager to see how her rookie Dad Roland would beat up this presumptuous group of bandits.

“What? You bastard…” The bandit leader was instantly enraged after seeing Roland interfere with his earnings. But he quickly noticed that Roland was alone, and all his anger vanished, replaced by a sinister smile.

“Hey, you said you want to protect these people, right? Fine! I’ll give you that chance. If you can defeat me, I promise I won’t lay a hand on these people again. How about it? Do you want to spar with me?”

Hearing the bandit leader’s words, Roland fell silent.

‘Honestly, this is indeed a good option.’

‘The number of bandits surrounding them isn’t small. I could easily handle two or three of them, but dealing with such a large group simultaneously would be incredibly difficult. Plus, I couldn’t guarantee the safety of the merchants behind me.’

‘If I can resolve the current crisis in the safest way, that would be for the best.’

The condition was that the bandit leader would keep his word.

Seeming to notice Roland’s hesitation, the bandit leader added another sentence.

“Don’t worry! No one else will interfere with our fight. As long as you defeat me, you can take those people and leave!”

“Alright, then.” After careful consideration, Roland accepted the bandit leader’s duel invitation.

“If all it takes is defeating you to resolve this crisis, that’s pretty simple.”

“You think defeating me is simple? Hahahahaha! Stop dreaming! I only let you kick me just now because I was off guard. Now I’m going to get very serious!”

Saying this, the bandit leader wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and charged toward Roland with a wild smile, swinging his blood-stained machete.

As a bandit leader who had frequented the area for years, he was used to dealing with pathetic weaklings.

Honestly, those people were so weak that no matter how much he chopped at them, he couldn’t get the slightest bit excited.

But now was different. This blue-haired boy seemed a little stronger than the weaklings before him.

That meant he could fight freely and chop as he pleased. How could he not be excited?

Seeing the look of wild joy on the bandit leader’s face, Roland didn’t show any disgust or repulsion. Instead, he gripped his sword, taking a defensive stance.

The bandit leader rushed up to Roland and began a relentless, unreasonable flurry of chops. Roland calmly blocked every one of the bandit’s attacks.

The blood that had been staining the bandit’s blade splattered everywhere during the frantic chopping. One drop even landed directly on Roland’s cheek.

But no matter how arrogant the bandit leader was, Roland’s expression remained unchanged. He calmly stared at the bandit leader’s movements.

“What’s wrong? You were acting tough just now. Why are you like this now?”

The bandit leader, convinced he had the upper hand, tried to use words to break the opponent’s psychological defense. But no matter what he said or how hard he chopped, Roland remained unfazed.

“You can’t defeat me if you don’t attack! Since you plan to only defend, I’ll completely break your defense!”

Saying this, the bandit leader raised his machete and brought it down fiercely. Roland raised his sword to block it.

However, this defense was within the bandit leader’s expectation. His killing blow wasn’t the chop; it was…

Taking advantage of the opening created by Roland raising his sword, the bandit leader threw a devastating, preemptive punch toward Roland’s ribs.

But the result left him dumbfounded. Roland parried the powerful punch with only his left hand.

The force of the punch instantly shattered the carriage behind Roland, which was a testament to the power of the bandit leader’s punch.

Yet, the punch caused no substantial damage to Roland. Roland didn’t even show any sign of pain.

“What?” The astonished bandit leader quickly backed away from Roland. He looked down at his own hand, wondering if he had been overusing his body and had developed muscle weakness. After a moment of self-doubt, he convinced himself that Roland’s block was a complete fluke.

However, Roland blocking the punch was no fluke.

In his youth, he had trained diligently to become a powerful swordsman.

But lacking a master’s guidance, he was merely strong. His sword techniques were full of flaws and were completely useless in a real fight.

But he was keenly aware of his weakness.

To hone his swordsmanship, he left his village and embarked on a journey to the royal capital, hoping to join the Knight Order and become a proper warrior.

Thinking of his dream, Roland raised his sword and pointed it at the bandit leader.

“What’s wrong? Aren’t you going to attack anymore? You can’t break my defense if you don’t attack!”

Hearing Roland’s taunt, the bandit leader was instantly enraged.

“Damn it! You dare to look down on me! I’ll show you the killing blow I’ve honed over thirty years of killing weaklings!”

Saying this, the bandit leader fiercely leaped into the air, raising his machete.

Using the momentum of his descent, he brought the machete down on Roland, like a fully transformed General Yu.

“Vanguard Sweep, Now!”

The moment the machete struck the ground, a huge shockwave erupted, spreading rapidly outward. A cloud of dust rose up.

Several deep gashes were carved into the ground, a testament to the ferocity of the attack.

Seeing the ground so utterly destroyed, the bandit leader was ecstatic.

He turned his head and saw Roland standing behind him, completely unharmed. A look of surprise flashed across his eyes.

“Oh? You took that attack and you’re still standing? Not bad! I’m slightly impressed! But this is the end for you!”

“Yes, it is the end.” Roland agreed softly. He then slowly turned around, calmly staring at the bandit leader. “You’ve lost.”

“Huh?” The bandit leader wondered if this guy had fallen and hit his head, confusing the situation. He had used his strongest killing blow, and the guy hadn’t dodged. The fact that he was still standing was a miracle. Why was he saying that he had lost? “Are you kidding me? How could I possibly…”

However, before he could finish, the bandit leader suddenly noticed that the one-meter-long machete in his hand was only the handle-half. The blade-half was lying quietly at his feet.