The Indomitable Martial King

“Haap!”

He stepped on the ground and thrust a long punch. With power and speed reduced to about half, the strike aimed at Iniya’s shoulder.

Just as the punch was about to reach Iniya, she leaned back with a smile. Simultaneously, she spread her legs wide towards Repenhardt.

“Huh?”

It was such a provocative pose that Repenhardt momentarily blushed.

“Hup!”

Holding her breath, Iniya wrapped her legs around his waist and pulled his arm.

“Whoa?”

Unable to stop his momentum, Repenhardt fell forward. Iniya lifted her legs over his shoulders and began to choke him with her calves and thighs. She had perfectly executed a triangle choke.

Watching, Russ’s eyes widened.

‘That’s Karzian Jujitsu, isn’t it? How did an elf learn such a human technique?’

Moreover, the accuracy and speed of the technique were astonishing. It was comparable to that of a traditional Karzian martial artist.

“Ugh!”

As soon as his neck was constricted, Repenhardt quickly counterattacked.

Now, he was no longer entirely ignorant of ground techniques. Although he was momentarily caught off guard by the unexpected move, he quickly placed his hand between her legs to protect his carotid artery.

But even that position was advantageous for Iniya to apply her next technique.

She pushed away Repenhardt’s left hand, which was protecting his carotid artery, and twisted her body to use the momentum to change her position. This resulted in Repenhardt choking himself with his own arm.

“Gag!”

Choking, Repenhardt forcibly detached Iniya. Using that force, he spun his body. Instantly, their positions were reversed, with Iniya pinning Repenhardt down by his stomach.

From a mounted position, Iniya looked down at Repenhardt with a bright smile. Her expression seemed to ask how he felt about it.

Repenhardt sincerely complimented her.

“Your skills are impressive!”

“Thank you.”

Iniya beamed with joy at the acknowledgment. Repenhardt clicked his tongue in amazement.

‘Wow, I don’t even know what happened, but I ended up pinned down.’

However, this didn’t mean Iniya was stronger than Repenhardt. In fact, even in this state, Repenhardt had ways to escape if he wanted. Without resorting to magic or the Spiral Guard, his superior strength alone would suffice to overpower her.

In the past, he had no idea where to apply force, but now he had basic knowledge of joint techniques.

But this was just a sparring session to learn techniques.

Repenhardt asked.

“How do I get out of this?”

“Twist your body to the side and lift your right knee. Then, push my knee and…”

Iniya kindly explained. Following her instructions, Repenhardt moved his body and naturally escaped. He was already pondering, and meeting such a master at the right time was truly fortunate.

“It’s really a relief to have met you, Iniya.”

Whatever she interpreted from that remark, Iniya’s face turned bright red for a moment.

“Where did you learn Karzian Jujitsu?”

“There was a time when I hid my identity as an elf and wandered the continent in search of strong individuals. I encountered it then.”

The established fact across the continent was that elf women had small chests. Thus, by hiding her long ears and dyeing her purple hair, which couldn’t be found in humans, no one recognized the busty Iniya as an elf.

Iniya managed her expression and spoke again.

“Shall we continue?”

“Please.”

The two continued to exchange techniques while entangled. In the meantime, they also kept trying to control each other’s flow using aura.

It was indeed a valuable experience. He learned a lot not only about ground techniques but also about the use of aura. Sweating, he focused and continued to move his body according to Iniya’s teachings.

Suddenly, Repenhardt asked.

“Is this Karzian Jujitsu?”

“Yes, this is Karzian Jujitsu.”

Iniya replied softly while lying on his chest.

“But…”

Repenhardt continued with a hint of curiosity.

“Is there a technique in Karzian Jujitsu that involves groping the chest like this?”

For some reason, during their continuous exchange of techniques, Iniya kept touching his chest, abdomen, and arms. No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t understand the meaning behind those gestures.

Iniya giggled.

“This is to measure your physical potential, Repenhardt-nim.”

“Ah, I see.”

Indeed, it was unrelated to Karzian Jujitsu.

Satisfied, Repenhardt nodded. The confusion disappeared, and his mind cleared again. Focusing, he resumed the sparring.

A little later.

“Iniya.”

“Yes?”

“It seems you measure my potential quite frequently…”

“It’s for more accurate measurements.”

“I see…”

It seemed slightly suspicious, but there was no real fault in her answer. With the attitude of a diligent student, Repenhardt accepted it and continued the sparring.

Repenhardt trained hard with Iniya. Of course, since he didn’t use brute force, he was mostly rolling around on the ground.

And Iniya was giggling.

‘Ah, his abs are really as solid as steel!’

“I-Iniya, it seems like you’re laughing…”

“I’m just happy because you’re learning quickly, Repenhardt-nim.”

“……”

* * *

Siris walked down the corridor, fuming.

‘What’s with that woman, Iniya? And what about Repenhardt-nim?’

As she walked, she found herself in the front yard where she always practiced magic. Siris grumbled as she plopped down on a bench under a tree.

While she sat there sulking, a small girl with her hair neatly braided approached from a distance. Despite her young appearance, she had a voluptuous chest; it was Tilla, a dwarf maiden.

Tilla smiled as she approached Siris.

“Oh my, Siris? Why are you so angry?”

“I’m not angry.”

With a teasing voice, Tilla poked Siris’s cheek.

“There’s no point in trying to convince me when your cheeks are puffed up like that and you’re huffing.”

“……Ugh.”

Sitting beside her, Tilla slyly asked.

“It’s because of that Iniya, isn’t it?”

Seeing Siris’s expression change dramatically, Tilla laughed inwardly.

Jealousy. It was definitely jealousy.

‘How cute.’

Compared to the still adolescent Siris, Tilla was a mature adult dwarf, with more than 30 years of life experience. Watching the young elf girl, Tilla spoke in a comforting tone.

“See? Repenhardt-nim really is an amazing man, isn’t he?”

“……You think Repenhardt-nim is amazing?”

Siris asked back with a perplexed expression.

She was an elf and had elven aesthetics. While Repenhardt was a good person and someone important to her, calling him amazing was a bit…

‘What’s so amazing about someone who walks around shirtless, flexing his chest?’

Tilla replied as if it was obvious.

“Repenhardt-nim? He’s incredibly amazing! Even our clan’s women really like him. If only he grew a beard, he’d be perfect, but it’s a shame he shaves…”

To dwarves, manliness meant broad shoulders and a thick chest, and Repenhardt was a splendidly handsome man even by dwarf standards.

“Uhm…”

Tilla continued subtly as Siris shook her head in disbelief.

“Even among the orcs, Repenhardt-nim is very popular. Orc women always say things like, ‘If only our husbands were half as good as Repenhardt-nim.’”

“……Well, that’s…”

Siris shook her head. Orcs were a race that valued muscles, so it was natural for them.

“And isn’t Sillan’s goal to become a great man like Repenhardt-nim?”

Sillan had always been an advocate for muscles, so that made sense.

“Even among the human maids, Repenhardt-nim is very popular. Flora and some other elves also seem to have an eye on him…”

Hearing that he was popular not just among other races but also among human maids and elves, Siris’s expression began to change.

“R-Really?”

Thinking about it, it was true that Flora and other elf women who had spent a lot of time with Repenhardt seemed to show affection towards him.

In reality, Repenhardt was quite popular among the maids and elf women within the White King Castle. Contrary to his appearance, Repenhardt was very gentlemanly and never extended his hand inappropriately, even to a mere maid. Once you got past the initial impression, he was a reliable, diligent, and highly capable man. (In fact, there weren’t many men in the world as capable as Repenhardt.)

Everyone could see how much Repenhardt cherished Siris, so they could only admire him from a distance. However, his popularity was considerable.

‘Wait, is Repenhardt-nim actually really amazing?’

With everyone around her praising him, she started to feel confused. Tilla chuckled and placed her hand on Siris’s shoulder.

“Siris…”

She subtly encouraged her.

“You’ll regret it if you stay like this.”

“R-regret what…”

Seeing Siris flustered, Tilla shook her head.

“That girl, Iniya, is not making a simple move. Men can be swept off their feet in a moment.”

“Whether he’s swept off his feet or not, it has nothing to do with me…”

“And that girl, she has a big chest. Men are especially weak to that kind of appeal.”

Strictly speaking, dwarf men were particularly weak to that appeal, but human men weren’t much different. Siris’s expression hardened further at Tilla’s pinpointed remark.

Siris glanced down at her own chest. It was cute and perky, but compared to Iniya, it seemed rather lacking.

“Ugh…”

Tilla watched Siris, finding her adorable, before standing up.

“Well, I have a date with Karl, so I’ll be off.”

“Mr. Karl must have finished his work for today? I saw him working out with Repenhardt-nim earlier.”

Tilla suddenly covered her cheeks with her hands and blushed.

“Yes, ever since he started working out with Repenhardt-nim, he’s become more and more dependable and handsome!”

Siris’s expression crumpled slightly. It was true that Karl’s build had significantly increased recently. His beard had also become bushier.

‘…Dependable?’

To Siris, it seemed like he was turning from a monkey into a gorilla. Just by his appearance, he looked more like a general who roamed the battlefield rather than a prime minister, and not a strategic one but a brute who knew nothing but charging.

Thanks to this, the Duchy of Antares had unwittingly gained a reputation as a combat nation.

Its ruler was the Fist King, its prime minister a gorilla, and the event that brought them fame was a war, so it was only natural.

‘As long as they like each other, there’s no problem…’

As she left, Tilla looked back once more.

“Come on, Siris! Don’t let that new girl beat you! Fighting!”

After sending her encouragement, Tilla left the front yard. Siris stared blankly at Tilla’s retreating figure.

‘…Don’t let her beat me?’

Her confused mind began to clear up little by little. Gradually, a determined look appeared on her face.

It was often said, but Siris had a surprisingly strong competitive spirit…