Lu Mingfei, become the King of Elden!

Chapter 15 Are you really a descendant of the Faded Ones?
Lu Mingfei felt that the days and nights at the border were exceptionally long. Perhaps the high-intensity training had blurred his sense of time, or perhaps it was just like that here.

As the old knight's teaching intensity gradually increased, his skills also improved rapidly.

For the first fifteen days, he couldn't even execute a complete sword move and could only flee in a sorry state from the old knight's blade.

After that, he gradually began to master the skills and rhythm of combat, and was able to barely hold his own, lasting five or six minutes against the old knight.

By the thirty-seventh day, Lu Mingfei was able to fight the old knight to a standstill.

On the forty-first day, the old knight finally donned his full set of armor and began a serious battle of offense and defense against Lu Mingfei.

Five days later, the old knight's armor showed scratches of varying degrees.

On the sixtieth day, the old knight suddenly launched a fierce attack, fighting Lu Mingfei with all his might, causing Lu Mingfei to retreat step by step. He only lasted for ten minutes before collapsing to the ground.

Then, the white-bearded old man helped the exhausted Lu Mingfei to his feet and announced that his swordsmanship had surpassed that of a trainee knight and was good enough to be ranked among the lowest in the knightly order.

Then, the old knight disappeared, asking Lu Mingfei to train on his own while he returned.

A few days later, he returned with a complete set of "Lost Knight's Armor (Light Armor)" and two Lost Knight's Greatswords.

"Now that you have joined the ranks of formal knights, you should not use your mentor's sword as your only weapon. A knight should have his own armor and weapons."

The old knight said slowly:

“From today onwards, you will begin to learn ‘storm’ from me.”
-
Lu Mingfei took a deep breath, gripped the greatsword tightly, and then focused intently on twisting his arm and wielding the blade.

A gentle breeze quickly gathered around him, bringing a touch of coolness, before disappearing again in the sight of the old man and the young man.

"Origin! Origin! Can't you understand human language?!"

The old knight flew into a rage, roaring loudly on the lawn. The deafening sound made Lu Mingfei involuntarily shrink back.

"The act of 'summoning the storm' is merely an aid to guiding power! Don't just swing your weapons blindly; focus your mind on your inner strength!"

Lu Mingfei gripped the hilt of his sword tightly.

He closed his eyes, trying to sense the "origin" the old knight had spoken of.

He took a deep breath.

This time, he no longer pursued superficial similarity.

"drink!"

Lu Mingfei let out a low shout, and his sword turned slightly. In that instant, he seemed to feel the flow of blood within his body.

With a whooshing sound of swords being swung, the wind gathered again, bringing with it more and stronger cool breezes.

This time, the old knight didn't curse.

He looked up and sighed deeply, murmuring:
"Everyone says the Faded Ones are descendants of warriors, and learning combat skills is as easy for them as eating and drinking. How come I haven't seen any?"
If everyone had such talent back then, how could Storm King have fallen to this point?

Lu Mingfei's sword tip trembled slightly.

"teacher"

Lu Mingfei said weakly:
"We've done it over three hundred times already, how about we try a different combat technique?"

"fart!"

The knight flew into a rage, his silver beard trembling with anger.

"A Storm Knight's combat skills and swordsmanship are one! If you can't even learn the most basic 'Summon Storm,' don't even think about the later combat skills!"

"and!"

The old knight said with exasperation:
"You've already released it! You've released it! Why can't you put in a little more effort and use the full combat technique?"

"You clearly possess such a powerful source! You even know how to strengthen your source with runes! How could I not sense it? How could this be!"

Lu Mingfei lowered his head in shame.

In truth, he was already used to the disappointed looks of others. From childhood to adulthood, Lu Mingfei had never shown any talent outside of interstellar travel and shooting. Apart from the group of freaks at Kassel College, the old knight was the first person to place high hopes on Lu Mingfei, although he never said it aloud, Lu Mingfei had already deeply felt it in his daily actions.

Lu Mingfei had never responded to someone's expectations so actively and diligently. However, he truly couldn't feel the "origin" that Emiya Shirou and the old knight had mentioned.

Lu Mingfei muttered to himself:

"Maybe I was born that way."

As someone who wields the power of storms, the old knight's ears are incredibly sharp.

"What is it?"

The old knight suddenly approached, his hair and beard bristling, his cloudy eyes flashing with a sharp light:
"talk!"

Lu Mingfei opened his mouth, but finally uttered two words silently, as soft as a mosquito's buzz:
"Useless trash."

Silence spread between the two. In the distance, a gray eagle soared over the top of the cliff.

The old knight suddenly grabbed his twin swords.

"Watch closely, kid."

His voice was calmer than ever before:
"This is the real 'awakening of the storm'."

In an instant, a strong wind blew up.

The old knight's figure appeared and disappeared in the storm, his twin swords transforming into two silver lightning bolts.

Lu Mingfei had to raise his hand to shield his eyes, but he could still feel the fierce wind rushing towards him.

When the storm subsided, the old knight's sword was already in front of Lu Mingfei, pointed at his throat.

“Now,” he sheathed his sword, “tell me what you saw.”

Lu Mingfei swallowed hard: "I see it. The storm."

“You’re wrong.” The old knight turned and walked toward the campfire. “You saw obsession.”

"Young man, don't underestimate yourself. In terms of swordsmanship alone, your talent is enough to rank you in the upper-middle level within the Knights."

Lu Mingfei was taken aback, unsure whether the old knight was comforting him or if it was truly the case.

"The old man's teaching methods are all for training Storm King's new recruits. Your origin is half ancient dragon and half human, which is very different from ours. Perhaps my path is not suitable for you."

Lu Mingfei understood that the old man must be referring to the dragon bloodline within him.

"However, the legacy of the storm takes more than one form, just as the growth of a warrior has more than one path."

Long ago, during a civil war between ancient dragons and wyverns, the Dragon King Platonsax bestowed the Dragon Feast, allowing us mortals to hunt wyverns, a tradition that gradually became part of the Knights' Order.

Now that things have come to this, Lu Mingfei understood perfectly.

He hesitated and looked up:

"Teacher, do you want me to perform the Dragon Offering?"

The old man remained silent for a long time before nodding.

"Those who seek the dragon's food often become hopelessly addicted to the desire for the dragon's heart, and eventually gradually transform into something other than human."

"However, you are different."

"If I'm not mistaken, as a human, you can perform the Dragon Feast just like any other mortal; but as an ancient dragon, you will not be allowed to transform into a flying dragon."

"Not far from here is a lake where a dragon named 'Akir' lives."

“Go hunt it and bring back its heart.”

"Perhaps, this is your destiny."

(End of this chapter)