The Greatest Estate Developer - Chapter 15: The Four Weapons of a Scoundrel (2)

*Thud!*

“Ugh!”

A tremendous impact struck Sir Neumann’s face, sending the world spinning in his vision.

‘What is this?’

For a moment, his mind went blank.

But that didn’t last long.

Sir Neumann quickly regained his composure and assessed his situation.

‘My attack was blocked. And I was counterattacked? Me?’

In his slowed perception, he saw droplets of blood flying through the air.

It was his own blood, spat from his mouth.

Now that he thought about it, the inside of his cheek stung. The impact had caused his inner cheek to split open.

‘Because of that brat? I was hit?’

*Grit!*

Without realizing it, Sir Neumann ground his teeth.

He quickly moved his legs, spreading them wide and planting his feet on the ground, barely managing to prevent himself from falling.

“Kraah!”

As soon as he regained his balance, he let out a fierce yell.

He gathered mana from his mana heart, circulating it through his body, and with renewed vigor, swung his sword upward from below in a diagonal slash.

It was his ultimate counterattack.

But it was immediately blocked.

*Clang!*

“Oh, you’re quick to counter. Last time, Sir Ulrich didn’t even know what hit him after the first strike.”

“…Damn it!”

The flat blade of the shovel intercepted Sir Neumann’s sword.

But Sir Neumann wasn’t done yet.

Realizing his counterattack was blocked, he shifted his sword’s movement.

He stepped forward and twisted his blade.

*Scrape!*

The sword and the shovel clashed, emitting a harsh sound of metal scraping against metal.

‘I’ll disarm him with this!’

Twisting the weapons together, he aimed to wrench Lloyd’s shovel away.

Once Lloyd was disarmed, Sir Neumann would trip him and knock him to the ground.

That was the plan Sir Neumann had devised in that split second.

But he hadn’t learned the sad truth yet: everyone has a beautiful plan until they get hit.

“Tsk. Disarm me, huh? Not a bad idea.”

*Snap!*

With Lloyd’s ominous words, the entwined weapons suddenly stopped.

No, to be precise, Lloyd stopped the shovel.

And so the sword stopped as well.

At that moment, the mana from Sir Neumann’s mana heart began draining away like a receding tide.

Mana flowed from his mana heart, into his arms, into his sword… and then into the shovel.

It was as if his mana was being sucked up like a drink through a straw, or like spilled water being absorbed by a tissue.

His mana was being absorbed into Lloyd’s shovel!

“What in the world!”

Panicking, Sir Neumann tried to pull back his sword.

But it didn’t go as planned.

For some reason, his movements felt sluggish.

More precisely, he couldn’t use his mana.

It felt as if he had suddenly become an ordinary man.

Meanwhile, Lloyd was charging at him with the speed of a low-rank Sword Expert!

“Good thing I checked.”

“…!”

*Whish!*

In a light, almost casual motion, Lloyd had closed the gap between them.

“Damn it!”

Sir Neumann hurriedly swung his sword, still sheathed, but Lloyd was faster.

*Whoosh!*

The shovel’s handle was already rushing toward his face.

And before he could react, it smashed into the bridge of his nose.

*Crack!*

“Argh!”

Did it break his nose?

The sharp, throbbing pain made it hard to keep his eyes open.

Instinctively, he stumbled back three steps.

Lloyd pressed forward relentlessly.

“I was a little worried. I hadn’t tested whether a single mana circle could absorb the mana from a low-rank Sword Expert.”

“Damn it!”

Sir Neumann cursed as he retreated, swinging his sword in desperation.

It was a counterattack fueled by the small amount of mana he had managed to recover.

But even that was absorbed by the shovel the moment his sword collided with it.

Once again, the mana was sucked into Lloyd’s weapon.

‘This is insane!’

*Smack!*

The shovel swung again.

Its flat blade slammed into Sir Neumann’s cheek.

His head jerked to the side, and his vision blurred.

This had never happened to him before.

He had never even imagined it.

‘That brat… is absorbing my mana.’

He could now vaguely understand what was happening.

But that only made it more incomprehensible.

Absorbing someone else’s mana?

And using it as if it were his own?

‘…How?’

It felt like cheating.

It felt unfair.

But Sir Neumann didn’t give up.

He fought to stay on his feet.

He tried counterattack after counterattack, but the more he fought, the more Lloyd overwhelmed him.

‘You’re probably so confused right now. You don’t even understand what’s happening, do you? That’s why you’re losing. You spent the past month certain of your victory, but I didn’t.’

Lloyd had thoroughly analyzed his opponent.

He had predicted every situation in the duel.

He had prepared every possible countermeasure.

The result was this.

*Clang! Thud!*

Lloyd moved his shovel with precision.

Its range was never excessive.

He never strayed from his centerline.

Each movement was as efficient and simple as possible.

As soon as he deflected Sir Neumann’s attack, he stepped forward, extending the shovel’s blade and delivering a powerful smack to Sir Neumann’s cheek.

Lloyd’s heart was pounding like never before.

It was due to the mana circle he had formed around his heart, thanks to the Asrahan Technique.

*Buzz!*

The first weapon Lloyd had prepared for this duel—the mana circle created through the Asrahan Technique—was now spinning fiercely, powered by the mana he had absorbed from Sir Neumann.

Resonating with that rotation, Lloyd’s heart pumped wildly.

It sent a surge of fresh, mana-infused blood throughout his body.

‘So this is the power of a single circle.’

It was astonishing.

He hadn’t expected this much power.

He had only hoped that by absorbing Sir Neumann’s mana, he could weaken his opponent slightly.

But now, the power coursing through his body was far beyond what he had anticipated.

In other words, he could use Sir Neumann’s strength as his own!

‘Sword Experts are incredible.’

It felt like he had become superhuman.

For the first time, he truly grasped just how strong knights like Sir Neumann were.

That’s why Lloyd had chosen his second weapon: the solid steel shovel.

*Clang! Clang!*

The steel shovel in Lloyd’s hands moved with lethal precision.

Each time, it blocked Sir Neumann’s sword with ease.

It was like a shield attached to the end of a long pole.

‘People underestimate it, but shovels are incredible tools.’

Anyone who had done serious digging knew this.

Shovels weren’t just simple tools for manual labor.

When roots or stubborn plants got in the way while digging?

You could just swing the sharpened blade to cut through them.

With a single swing, you could chop through small plants or branches, like an axe.

‘But that’s not all.’

Lloyd knew that shovels had been used as weapons many times throughout history.

On the brutal trenches of World War I’s Western Front, and in the savage battle of Stalingrad during World War II, shovels had proven their worth as weapons.

In hand-to-hand combat, soldiers would frequently crack helmets and split skulls with a well-aimed swing of a shovel.

And that wasn’t the only thing a shovel could do.

‘Its wide blade can be used as a shield. You can hook and pull an opponent’s weapon with the lower edge of the blade. You can stab with the pointed tip like a spear.’

And if you flipped the shovel over and balanced on the blade?

‘You can even use it as a pogo stick!’

In other words, the shovel was like the Swiss Army knife of the weapon world.

Lloyd had wielded shovels countless times.

When he was a “summoned soldier” under the watchful eye of his sergeant in the Korean military.

When he had worked on construction sites to pay his tuition.

The shovel had always been his reliable companion.

It was the tool he was most familiar with.

And recently, he had invested his hard-earned RP into unlocking a new skill.

That skill was his third weapon.

He had spent a full 40 RP to acquire it—*Tool Mastery: Shovel*.

*Ding-dong!*

[Tool Mastery: Shovel has been activated.]

[The tool and I are one! Today, I’m using the shovel!]

[Skill Level: 1]

[While using the shovel, stamina consumption decreases by 10%.]

[Shovel movement speed increases by 5%.]

[Force behind shovel strikes increases by 5%.]

[Chance of dropping the shovel decreases by 20%.]

The shovel, the tool Lloyd was most familiar with, became even more efficient thanks to this skill.

This was the third weapon he had prepared for the duel, one that was perfectly suited to him.

‘And the fourth weapon? That’s this.’

*Whish! Clang!*

Lloyd’s shovel moved once again.

It blocked Sir Neumann’s thrust perfectly.

The shovel blade never strayed from Lloyd’s centerline.

Simple, yet precise and calculated movements.

Efficient and practical.

It was a technique designed to wield the shovel as a weapon.

A technique familiar to every South Korean man who had completed military service: **bayonet training**.

*Swish! Clang! Thud! Crack!*

Lloyd stepped aside and thrust to the right.

Sir Neumann dodged, swinging his sword horizontally.

Lloyd blocked the attack from below and countered with a strike.

As Sir Neumann retreated, Lloyd pursued him with swift footwork.

He spun to the left, using the shovel as a shield, and followed up with a front kick to Neumann’s groin.

The moment Sir Neumann faltered, Lloyd swung the shovel handle into his temple.

*Crack!*

“Urgh!”

Sir Neumann staggered backward, disoriented.

Lloyd, breathing heavily, smiled slightly.

‘Bayonet training works perfectly.’

Bayonet training wasn’t weak.

Just because every South Korean soldier learned it didn’t make it any less effective. Its roots lay in the smallsword techniques that had evolved in 18th-century Europe.

The technique combined precise footwork with efficient stabbing and blocking.

It had been further refined through the brutal realities of battle in World War I, World War II, and the Korean War.

It was a combat system that had been thoroughly honed for real-life combat situations.

‘And bayonet training synergizes incredibly well with the shovel!’

There were plenty of soldiers who had tried out bayonet training with a shovel as a joke during their time in the military.

Lloyd was one of them.

And now, with the basic swordsmanship skills he had learned from Javier added into the mix, the effect was astounding.

The Asrahan Technique’s mana circle.

The versatile and deadly steel shovel.

The *Tool Mastery* skill that made shovel handling even more intuitive.

And bayonet training, based on the techniques taught by Javier.

The four weapons he had prepared for today’s duel worked together in perfect harmony.

He was completely overwhelming Sir Neumann, who had entered the duel so arrogantly, leaving him utterly destroyed.

“Ugh!”

*Thwack!*

Sir Neumann staggered as Lloyd’s shovel handle struck his temple.

But he wasn’t even given the chance to fall.

Lloyd’s shovel was already moving again, aimed squarely at him.

*Thud!*

The flat blade of the shovel slammed into his side.

And just for good measure, the sharp tip of the shovel pierced his foot.

*Crunch!*

“…Aaaargh!”

Sir Neumann was losing his mind.

Every time he attempted a counterattack, his mana was absorbed.

And Lloyd’s shovel, with its unpredictable movements, bombarded him with attacks from every angle.

Lloyd’s motions were so familiar, so fluid, that it was terrifying.

And worst of all, every move Lloyd made was so precise and efficient that there were no gaps in his defense.

‘This can’t be happening!’

Sir Neumann was furious.

Humiliated.

All of this was happening in front of the residents of the territory.

To be humiliated like this by a mere brat of a young master.

To be beaten down with something as ridiculous as a shovel.

‘I’ll kill him. I’ll kill him!’

A sinister light flashed in Sir Neumann’s eyes.

He no longer cared about the duel or honor.

All he wanted was to end this brat.

‘Accidents happen all the time in duels, don’t they?’

Like an errant sword stabbing through the heart.

Or a head accidentally getting severed in the heat of battle.

These things weren’t uncommon.

And if it happened now?

Sir Neumann was confident he could deal with the aftermath.

‘This territory’s going to fall apart soon anyway. I’ll just leave earlier than planned, go to my new master, and live a life of luxury! And if something happens? It was just an accident during a duel. No one can blame me, right?’

All he had to do was vanish after the duel.

Leave the territory sooner than expected and find his new master.

Having made up his mind, Sir Neumann gripped his sword tightly.

With his other hand, he seized the scabbard.

He drew his blade.

*Sching!*

The sword, hidden within its sheath until now, gleamed coldly.

Without hesitation, Sir Neumann thrust the sword straight toward Lloyd.

The target?

Lloyd’s heart.

“Aah!”

Unlike his previous attacks, this one was filled with killing intent.

The residents watching the duel screamed in terror.

Baron Frontera, seated in the stands, jumped to his feet in shock.

But Lloyd wasn’t fazed.

‘So what?’

He could feel the killing intent.

But it was a sluggish, half-hearted strike.

Sir Neumann had already been worn down.

And just because it was a real blade didn’t mean Lloyd would fall to such a weak attack.

In fact, he had been expecting a final, desperate attack like this.

‘This is what I’ve been waiting for.’

*Clang!*

The steel shovel blocked Sir Neumann’s sword as if it had been waiting for it.

Just like Sir Neumann had tried earlier, Lloyd entangled the blade with his shovel.

*Scrape!*

He twisted the weapons together, yanked, and flung the sword away.

“Huh?”

*Thud.*

The sword flew from Sir Neumann’s hand and landed ten paces away, embedding itself in the ground.

“…”

A heavy silence fell over the training ground.

Hundreds of eyes stared in disbelief.

Sir Neumann, disarmed.

Lloyd, holding his shovel menacingly toward him.

It was a flawless, picture-perfect victory.

But Lloyd wasn’t done yet.

“You think the duel’s over just because you’re standing there in shock? Huh?”

“…!”

*Thud!*

In the stunned silence, Lloyd’s steel shovel struck again.

This time, it slammed firmly into Sir Neumann’s face.

Was it for revenge?

No.

‘This is only the beginning. Only the beginning.’

Because today, Lloyd intended to pull out the rotten roots that had taken hold in this territory.

‘Starting with the confession of the traitor.’

Lloyd’s eyes glinted coldly as he looked down at Sir Neumann.