Roaring Heroes Battle the Overlord (Ainz) - Part 1 (Chapters 1 to 200)

Chapter 52: The Second Prince

In a spacious courtyard, the afternoon sun shone brightly, with rays slanting down and casting shadows of eaves and leaves on the ground. In this late autumn season, the warm sunlight made everyone feel lazy and relaxed, turning even the slightly chilly autumn breeze into something soothing.

On a wooden bench amid the trees, EeDechi lounged half-reclined, holding a big apple and chewing it listlessly out of boredom. On the open ground in front of her, Barrett was teaching the blond, blue-eyed Climb how to fight.

Still dressed like an adventurer, Barrett gripped a broad wooden sword, sparring with Climb who held a similar wooden blade. Their swords clashed, the "thud, thud" of wood smacking together echoing through the air, while the gentle sunlight bathed them both, their dancing shadows weaving together.

The Last Defender of the Way adventurer team had already accompanied Princess Renner through a teleportation array to reach the kingdom's capital, and they were now temporarily staying right next to the princess's private quarters.

In the distance, the palace's tall spire and white marble castle were visible—supposedly home to King Ramposa III and the second prince.

The matchup between the veteran elite adventurer and the princess's personal guard quickly reached a conclusion.

Barrett stepped lightly forward, twisting his wide wooden sword at a tricky angle to deflect Climb's longsword and knock it to the ground. He pulled his blade back to his shoulder, then shoved his body ahead, sending Climb tumbling and sprawling onto the dirt.

"Kids these days—each generation's worse than the last." Watching from the sidelines, EeDechi saw Barrett take down Climb in just a couple of moves and shook her head slowly, her voice laced with regret and frustration, like she was pissed that he wasn't shaping up.

"Climb, don't get down on yourself—you've already improved." Barrett ignored EeDechi's snarky comment, reaching out his broad hand to haul Climb up from the ground as he instructed, "Besides attacking, you need to learn how to retreat, adjust your footing, and redirect the force from an enemy's strike on your weapon."

"But the princess and the civilians are right behind me—I can't retreat," Climb said as he got to his feet, his tone unyielding.

"Turn retreat into advance: step back once to spot the enemy's weakness, then push forward twice as far." Barrett wasn't annoyed at being challenged; instead, he guided him patiently.

Climb wasn't born into nobility like the other knights in the palace; he was an orphan, picked up by the kingdom's Princess Renner when he was on the brink of death as a child, becoming her personal guard.

Although his talent for swordsmanship wasn't great, he trained with incredible diligence and grit, and his strength was already top-notch among warriors his age.

He had a cheerful and humble personality, with a rock-solid will, and he put real effort into his martial training. Barrett liked him a lot and had taught him plenty of combat tricks.

Compared to the kingdom's stiff, by-the-book orthodox court swordsmanship, the experiences and moves Barrett had picked up from years of adventuring and bloody fights were sometimes a cut above.

"Take a breather first," Barrett said kindly, pulling a can of magical distilled water from his spatial ring and handing it to Climb.

Climb took the water can, wiped the big drops of sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand, twisted off the oak stopper, and chugged it down in one go. The crisp, cool water gurgled in his throat, washing away the heat from the workout.

"Captain," Climb set the can down and turned to look at EeDechi half-sprawled on the wooden chair in the shade, his eyes full of eagerness, "you must know some Martial Arts, right? Could you teach me a few?"