God of Knight

Chapter 7 - The Drunken God

“Miss, I’d like to buy some rice wine—please pour it into this jar!” said the old man.

Kenzou initially noticed the old man but didn’t recognize him, so he went back to enjoying his snack.

Shortly afterward, their main dishes arrived, and they all began eating.

“Eat plenty, Young Master,” Kanezawa said. “We still have the forest to cross. We may have to stay there tonight if we can’t reach Tsukihara before dark.”

Kenzou glanced over briefly, then calmly returned to his meal. As he was enjoying his food, the old man spoke again, this time addressing Kazan rather than the servant.

“Are you really just a little kid, like you look?”

Kazan was startled.

Kenzou set down his cup. The old man’s question had come too close to the secret he was trying to protect.

“Sorry, Grandpa, he’s just a kid, and this boy is my student!” Kenzou replied.

Kazan immediately knelt down, bowed to the old man, and spoke to him.

“Greetings! My name is Shinra Kazan!”

“Kazan…? Hmm…! Ah, never mind. I thought you were an old demon in disguise! Perhaps it’s the alcohol—my vision’s a little blurry,” the old man said, then turned toward the door.

Kazan released a breath when the old man turned away.

“Just forget what I said earlier, little demon—finish your meal!” said the old man.

“That old man is so strange!” said Daigo.

“Did you recognize him, Sensei?” Kanezawa asked, but Kenzou simply shook his head.

“Hurry and finish your meals, and we’ll leave as soon as possible so we don’t get caught in the forest after dark!” said Kenzou.

The four of them went back to eating so they could leave soon, since they still had a long journey ahead of them.

***

“We’ll be passing through the forest soon—remember to always stay alert!” said Kenzou.

His gaze kept returning to the small figure seated before him on the saddle.

For a while, only hooves and the creak of tack broke the forest’s quiet.

However, as they ventured deeper into the forest, they could hear a fight near where they were.

“Sensei…!?” Daigo turned to look at Kenzou.

“Stay together!” Kenzou said, and they headed toward the sound.

Two men fought in a clearing. Two more lay nearby, struggling to move.

The old man from the tavern lurched beneath a sword stroke. His opponent wore a short-sleeved shirt and carried a blade of the kind used in Fengrui.

“He’s a bandit who often operates around these woods, but why does he have a knight’s sword from the Fengrui Kingdom?” asked Kanezawa.

“It’s possible he robbed those merchants from Fengrui, and maybe he took their swords!” replied Daigo.

Kenzou and Kazan paid no attention to the man wielding the sword; they were both more interested in the old man who was his opponent.

The sword swept toward the old man’s neck. He reeled aside as though losing his footing, then struck from an angle that forced the bandit to stumble back.

“Drunken God Technique!” Kazan recognized the shifting footwork before the next stroke even missed.

“So that old man is Koumei Hisen, the Drunken God!” Kenzou muttered.

“You stinking old geezer! I won’t let you live!” The bandit wiped his mouth with his sleeve and raised his sword again.

“What…? I can’t hear you—speak up, young man!” said Koumei, hiccupping as his body teetered on the brink of falling but somehow stayed upright.

The bandit swung once more. Koumei swayed out of reach, and the blade found only air.

“I’ll get you back someday!” said the bandit, then he left, abandoning his two wounded companions.

“Young man, why are you running away? Come on, let’s play some more!” said Koumei.

Once the bandit had vanished, Koumei straightened. The drunken sway disappeared from his stance.

“Are you just here to watch me, or do you want to help me tie up these two?” asked Koumei.

Kenzou and the others approached at once. Only Kenzou and Kazan recognized Koumei; Kanezawa and Daigo did not know who he was.

“Please forgive us for not recognizing you, Senior Koumei. I’m Kenzou Arata of the Golden Lion Sect, and these are our sect’s disciples,” Kenzou said.

“Kenzou of the Golden Lion Sect! Then your Sect Leader is Masaki Raikou of the Golden Fangs,” Koumei said.

“That’s correct, Senior. He leads our sect,” Kenzou replied.

Kanezawa and Daigo bound the two wounded bandits. Koumei had already given them pills for their internal injuries; their breathing was growing steadier.

“I was only passing through,” Koumei said. Kenzou nodded; finding the Drunken God twice in one day was luck he could not expect again.

Kenzou planned to take the two bound bandit knights to Tsukihara Village.

The bandits’ horses stood nearby. They would carry the prisoners, leaving the group’s own mounts free.

Koumei rested a hand on Kazan’s hair. “You little demon! Have you ever studied the basics, even once or twice?”

“No!” Kazan replied, shaking his head.

Kazan kept his expression blank. That touch must have revealed his Black Blood Cells, just as Kenzou’s had.

“That means Masaki is very lucky to have a student like you. If only you had joined no sect yet, I would gladly take you as my student!” said Koumei.

***

Koumei belonged to no sect. No teacher or Sect Leader could summon him home.

Today, he had left his opponents breathing and even treated their wounds.

On another day, those same opponents might not have lived. His mood was a risk no enemy could afford to ignore.

Drunken God Technique had appeared with Koumei himself; no knight knew the teacher or sect it had come from.

The name Drunken God had spread until people counted him among the Five Strongest Knights. Kazan had heard the story of the challenge match that first made that name famous.

Koumei had been in his mid-forties when two prominent sects of the Holy Order held a match to prove their champions worthy of the Top 10 Knights.

Koumei had appeared during the match and disrupted their plans, angering the leading knight from each sect.

Both champions had turned their weapons on the man who interrupted them.

Koumei had tried to talk them down. He had not yet used his signature art.

They had answered his explanation with more blows, driving him back until their weapons drew blood.

To him, the contest was trivial. To them, every spectator was a witness to their sect’s honor.

At last, he had changed his footwork. Drunken God Technique had put both champions on the ground within a few exchanges.

Seeing the two formidable knights defeated so quickly, one of the Top 10 Knights who was present had stepped forward and attacked Koumei.

He hit the ground beside the other two.

The knight had been shamed and eventually removed from the Top 10 Knights.

Kazan had also wanted to meet one of the Five Strongest Knights, but had never succeeded; finding them was not as easy as he had thought.