Investing in the Three Villainesses Gives Me Infinite Returns

Trons’s face turned furious at Elias’s words, and the muscles around his jaw tightened as he gripped his sword more firmly.

”You’ve got quite the mouth for a trash,” Trons said, his voice carrying across the training ground. ”Let’s see if your sword is just as good!”

Before Marcus could say anything, Trons pushed off the ground and rushed forward.

His boots struck the stone floor in rapid succession as he closed the distance between them, his sword already raised and prepared to strike.

Elias remained where he was.

He didn’t advance, retreat, or even raise his sword. He simply watched Trons approach.

Marcus frowned.

He had expected Elias to move first, but instead, the young lord had decided to remain stationary and allow his opponent to attack him.

Marcus sighed quietly.

”He’s making a mistake,” he muttered.

It was common sense for a less experienced and weaker swordsman to avoid allowing the stronger opponent to dictate the pace of a battle. By attacking first and forcing the stronger opponent to react, a weaker fighter could gradually exhaust their opponent, create openings, and eventually turn the battle in their favor.

Elias was doing the opposite.

He had willingly allowed Trons to become the aggressor.

Marcus could only assume that the young lord was either too inexperienced to understand the difference or too confident in his abilities.

Trons reached Elias and swung his sword.

”Let’s see if your sword is just as good as your mouth!” he said.

The blade cut toward Elias’s shoulder with the precision expected from an Intermediate swordsman.

Elias met Trons’s eyes. Then he stepped sideways.

The sword passed harmlessly beside him, missing by a considerable margin.

Trons’s eyes widened slightly.

”What?”

His sword continued through the space where Elias had been standing, and Trons immediately adjusted his footing to recover his balance.

Elias stared at him.

”Are you usually this slow?” he asked.

Trons’s face reddened.

”You...”

Elias wasn’t trying to provoke him.

He genuinely didn’t understand.

Yesterday, he had fought Stella. Even though she had been using only a wooden sword for most of their battle, the speed and pressure she had displayed were completely different from what Trons was showing now. Compared to Stella, Trons felt painfully slow.

Of course, Elias understood that comparing an Intermediate swordsman to Stella was unfair.

Still, after experiencing her attacks, his perception of speed had changed.

Trons spun around and immediately attacked again. This time, he aimed for Elias’s waist.

Elias raised his sword and caught the incoming blade before gently twisting his wrist.

Clang!

Trons’s sword was redirected away from Elias’s body, and the force carried Trons’s arm past his own side.

Before Trons could recover, Elias stepped forward and slapped him across the face.

Smack!

Trons stumbled sideways.

Elias lowered his sword and looked at him calmly.

”That’s for disrespecting my first wife,” he said.

Trons slowly touched his cheek.

His eyes narrowed.

”You...”

His expression twisted with anger, and he rushed forward again.

Marcus’s brows drew together.

”Trons, calm down,” he warned.

Trons ignored him and swung downward, forcing Elias to step backward before the blade struck the ground where he had been standing.

Elias shifted his weight and moved around the next attack, allowing the sword to pass in front of him.

Trons immediately followed with a horizontal slash.

Elias leaned backward, letting the blade pass just in front of his chest before stepping forward again.

Trons gritted his teeth.

”Stop running!” he growled.

”I’m not running,” Elias replied. ”You’re just having trouble hitting me.”

Trons’s expression darkened.

He attacked again, and this time, Elias didn’t move away.

He raised his sword and blocked the strike.

Clang!

The impact traveled through both weapons, but Elias barely moved.

Trons followed with another slash.

Elias blocked again, then twisted his sword around Trons’s blade and redirected it toward the ground.

Before Trons could understand what had happened, Elias stepped into his range and slapped him across the other cheek.

Smack!

”That’s for disrespecting my second wife,” Elias said.

Trons staggered backward, his hand immediately rising toward his cheek.

”You bastard!”

He charged again.

His attacks became faster and more aggressive, but the increased ferocity did little to change the outcome.

Elias continued moving with calm precision, stepping aside whenever necessary and meeting the attacks he couldn’t avoid with his sword.

Clang!

Trons’s blade was pushed aside.

Whoosh!

Another slash passed beside Elias’s shoulder.

Clang!

Elias caught the next strike and redirected it away from his body.

Trons’s breathing became heavier.

He had already thrown several attacks, yet Elias didn’t appear tired.

In fact, the young lord looked almost bored.

Trons roared and swung with everything he had.

Elias stepped forward instead of retreating.

Their swords collided.

Clang!

Elias’s wrist twisted, and Trons’s blade was forced outward.

Elias’s left hand immediately came forward.

Smack!

The slap echoed across the training ground.

Trons stumbled several steps backward.

Elias looked at him calmly.

”That’s for disrespecting my third wife,” he said.

Trons’s breathing became ragged.

His face was red, both from anger, humiliation, and Elias’s handprint.

Marcus watched the exchange with an increasingly serious expression.

This wasn’t the fight he had expected.

Elias wasn’t merely surviving. He was completely controlling the battle.

Trons tightened his grip around his sword and raised it again.

”You think you’ve won?” he asked through gritted teeth.

Elias shook his head.

”No.”

He lowered his sword slightly.

”I am here to punish your impudent behavior. There’s nothing for me to win.”

Trons took that as an opening.

He rushed forward with another furious attack.

The sword came toward Elias’s chest.

Elias shifted to the side, allowing the blade to pass him, then turned his body and struck Trons’s wrist with the flat of his own sword.

Trons’s hand loosened.

His sword nearly slipped from his grasp.

Before he could recover, Elias stepped forward.

Smack!

The fourth slap landed across Trons’s face.

Trons staggered.

Elias looked at him for a moment before saying, ”And that’s for disrespecting me.”

The training ground fell silent.

Even the other knight who had been standing beside Marcus stared at Elias without saying anything.

Trons’s chest rose and fell rapidly.

His eyes were filled with humiliation.

”You...”

He raised his sword again.

Elias sighed. ”You’re still trying?”

Trons roared and charged.

This time, Elias didn’t bother drawing out the exchange.

He waited until Trons entered his range, then stepped aside and caught his sword with his own.

With a simple movement of his wrist, Elias redirected the blade away from himself.

Trons’s balance broke.

Elias stepped forward and drove his foot into Trons’s chest.

Bang!

Trons was sent flying backward.

He crashed onto the training ground several meters away, his sword slipping from his hand and clattering against the stone.

Dust rose around him as he landed heavily on his back.

Elias lowered his leg and looked toward him.

The entire exchange had lasted only a few minutes, yet Trons had been unable to land a single meaningful strike.

Elias slowly sheathed his sword.

”That’s enough,” he said.

Trons remained on the ground, breathing heavily as he stared at the sky.

Marcus walked toward him and offered his hand.

”Are you injured?” he asked.

Trons clenched his teeth before accepting the hand and allowing Marcus to pull him upright.

”I’m fine,” he muttered.

Marcus looked toward Elias.

His expression was no longer the same as when the duel had begun.

He was aware of Elias’s reputation as the Trash of the Crimson Ducal Clan. Yet the person Marcus had just watched fight was nothing like that reputation.

Elias had barely exerted himself.

He hadn’t relied on brute force, nor had he overwhelmed Trons through some overwhelming technique. He had simply read every attack, avoided what he didn’t need to block, redirected what he couldn’t avoid, and punished every opening.

Marcus narrowed his eyes slightly.

”What happened to you, Lord Crimson?” he asked.

Elias glanced at him.

”What do you mean?”

Marcus hesitated before shaking his head.

”Nothing.”

Elias didn’t pursue the matter and turned toward the second knight.

The man immediately stiffened.

Elias pointed his sword toward him.

”You’re next.”

The knight’s face changed.

He glanced toward Trons, who was still holding onto his face and chest, then back toward Elias.

For the first time since arriving at the estate, the mocking smile had completely disappeared from his face.

”Come on,” Elias said, a grin slowly spreading across his face. ”You wanted to fight me too, didn’t you?”

The knight swallowed.

Marcus looked toward his companion, then quietly sighed.

”This is why I always tell you to be humble.”

He looked at Elias and remarked inwardly, ’You never know if the other person has hidden fangs or not.’