Chapter 663: Confer Rewards
“[Una.s.sailable]!”
The greatsword’s gem in Paul’s hands shone with crystal light. When the sword was thrust into the ground, his body was immediately wrapped in flames. The flames instantly turned into countless interlaced translucent light s.h.i.+elds. This technique was taught by his teacher, Parsali. It was equivalent to an absolute defensive compression territory power; the effect was far above the general protection magic.
Paul himself did not expect that he would actually be completely suppressed by someone he formerly defeated in this duel, and he was forced to activate this move so soon.
Samuel couldn’t break through the [Una.s.sailable] territory despite the continuous attacks. With a flick of his figure, he pulled a distance from Paul. A huge light mark appeared under his feet with a strong destructive breath as his long sword pointed at Paul.
“[Dawn Extinction]?” Paul sneered secretly. Samuel also used this move in the last duel, but it was easily cracked by him. He knew the characteristics of this move. This move also contained territory power and the attack range was very large. The disadvantage was that it consumed a lot of power, and the attack surface was relatively scattered. The defensive characteristics of the [Una.s.sailable] happened to restrain it.
Although Samuel had shown the strength to overwhelm him, as long as he guarded against this trump card, and then launched a counterattack while Samuel’s physical strength was exhausted, he could reverse the dire situation in a move, or even make a comeback.
In the midst of the fierce battles, the opportunities were only fleeting, so the time to judge or think was extremely short. Normally, only 1 choice could be made which was more of an instinctive reaction. Samuel’s sword had burst out an extremely sharp qi. Paul made a decision in an instant to not dodge it. He fully channeled the territory power to tank it with [Una.s.sailable].
The light in the arena was s.h.i.+ning, and the nearby protective enchantment vibrated violently. That kind of customized high-strength defensive stone slabs could not withstand the huge pressure and shattered 1 after another.
Paul sensed the strong impact against the [Una.s.sailable]. Those transparent light s.h.i.+elds began to thin out and were even slightly distorted, but he was not surprised but rejoiced instead. The characteristic of [Una.s.sailable] is somewhat similar to springs. The thinner the s.h.i.+eld, the stronger the defense – The power of [Dawn Extinction] is no doubt terrifying, but with the [Una.s.sailable] st.u.r.diness, it can definitely hold on till the end.
At this moment, Paul suddenly felt that the flow of territory power was different. With a swoosh, there was a pain in his shoulder. Something sharp had penetrated into his armor. It was a throbbing pain. Immediately afterward, sharp objects continued to break through the s.h.i.+eld at high speed. It was like Paul was shot continuously. His body shook violently. There were pierced holes on the surface of the [Una.s.sailable] s.h.i.+eld. Although they gradually healed automatically, they were still unable to resist that kind of sharp impact.
After the burst of light flashed, Paul had become a b.l.o.o.d.y man. The transparent s.h.i.+eld surface had collapsed as he staggered back. As soon as he stood firm, before he had time to make the next reaction, he stopped breathing abruptly. There was already a sharp sword on his throat.
A broken sword.
At this moment, Paul finally realized it. It turns out that [Dawn Extinction] is completely different from before. The scattered attacks are condensed together, and the power is multiplied. What is even more difficult to guard against is that Samuel deliberately shattered the long sword and mixed it with [Dawn Extinction] to shoot out. The shattering blade that contains the territory power is extremely sharp. The lethality is so amazing that even [Una.s.sailable] can’t resist it. He must have done something to the sword. No wonder he rarely defended my Magnificent Light greatsword previously. He is well-prepared in this fight!
Paul’s second reaction was shocked. I have lost to Samuel in front of Joanna, Lex the Great, the upper cla.s.s n.o.bles, and all the audience!
Both of their movements were extremely fast just now. Many of the audience could not see clearly. When this scene was frozen, the stands were silent: The result of the duel is shocking. The top genius, Paul, whom the audience thought highly of before the duel, actually lost! Judging from the b.l.o.o.d.y scene, it was even a fiasco!
Samuel glanced at Paul calmly and did not say anything like the winner’s declaration, but he slowly retracted the broken sword and turned around.
This was plain ignorance. A strong shame and anger surged in Paul’s heart. He had the urge to do a sneak attack from behind to slash Samuel into halves, but this idea was only fleeting. This was not the wilderness, but the royal arena. The arbiter Lex the Great alone was 1 of the strongest Saints in the human world. If he dared to act rashly, he and the Loman Family would definitely be dead even if Samuel’s life or death was unknown.
“Samuel won this duel.” Lex the Great’s voice sounded. He was still calm.
Samuel bowed to Lex the Great. At this time, a smiling man sitting at the bottom right of Lex the Great stood up and spoke, “Father once said that in order to achieve real success, hard work is better than talent. More importantly, I can imagine how much hard work our Silver Knight has put in to achieve the impressive victory today. Sir Samuel, I’m very interested in your heroic deeds in Storm Island this time. May I know if you can satisfy my curiosity? Maybe you can take out some trophies to widen my horizons?”
The man spoke eloquently, but he was actually questioning the incident at Storm Island. He obviously was ill-intentioned to ask in this situation where Samuel had just won.
Chen Rui knew that this man was his ‘second brother’ Garfield. The Golden Estate of ‘Arthur’ was currently ruled ‘on behalf’ by Garfield. Garfield and Samuel’s father, Carlo, had a long-term grudge, so he had often framed and suppressed them. The current plight of the Kemplot Family was inseparable from the ‘effort’ of the second prince.
Facing Garfield’s attack, Samuel looked very calm as he bowed, “Your Highness Garfield, unfortunately, I went to the Storm Island just to save my lover who was framed by a sinister plan. I am not a hero. Furthermore, if it was not for a fluke to escape the Storm Island, Joanna and I would have died in the hands of the t.i.tans.”
The t.i.tans? The surrounding discussions began to intensify again. Rumor has it that the t.i.tan can contend with the giant dragon. Unexpectedly, Samuel actually encountered this terrifying giant creature!
With that said, Samuel took out a piece of palm-sized silver metal, “This is what I found when I was escaping. It is not a trophy. I initially wanted to keep it by my side as a reminder and to give myself a higher goal to work toward. Perhaps this can satisfy Your Highness.”
The young man next to Lex the Great stared at the piece of metal from a distance. His silver eyes gleaming, “The silver scale armor piece is indeed the t.i.tan’s craftsmans.h.i.+p. This little brat is pretty good.”
The young man’s voice was not loud, but Garfield on the side heard it. He didn’t dare to question any more, so he sat down.
Lex the Great nodded slightly, “Samuel, I acknowledge your courage and strength. I shall confer you the t.i.tle of the empire’s golden knight. The official conferring ceremony will be held 3 days later.”
Lex the Great paused and glanced at the young man on the side and added another sentence, “I will give you the qualification to partic.i.p.ate in the Dragon Valley Meeting in the second half of the year. If you can get the approval of the dragons, you will officially become a member of the Dragon Knight Legion.”
Samuel was overjoyed and quickly knelt down on 1 knee to thank the reward. The reward of Lex the Great caused a sensation in the entire royal arena. It is not too surprising for Samuel to become a golden knight. After reaching the corresponding level of strength, he is qualified to become the golden knight. Paul is the reserve golden knight. It’s just that Samuel skipped the reserve level only. With Samuel’s performance in beating Paul today, this kind of skipping is understandable.
The most important matter is the qualifications for the Dragon Valley Meeting at the end. This kind of meeting is actually the strongest and highest-ranking dragon knight selection compet.i.tion. It is held every 50 years with only 10 candidates at a time. The compet.i.tion is extremely fierce. Even the golden knight can hardly obtain this qualification. Unexpectedly, Lex the Great actually directly awarded 1 of these places to Samuel today!
Many upper-level n.o.ble families had begun to speculate whether this was a sign of the re-emergence of the Kemplot Family? Patriarch Carlo of the Kemplot Family showed an excited expression as he bowed deeply to Lex the Great from afar. After Joanna’s father, Frett, publicly announced that Joanna and Paul’s marriage was invalid, he was still thinking of whether to accept Samuel whom he once rejected. He immediately made up his mind after hearing the reward. The second prince Garfield still had a smile on his face, but there was no joy in the stiff smile.
Paul, who was standing still in the arena, was more like an outsider at this time. The glory and reward Samuel had obtained were equivalent to a slap in his face. He was the top talented swordsman of the empire and the apprentice of Paladin Captain Parsali. He was high-spirited as if n.o.body could beat him. He had always been shrouded by the halo of genius and winner. When had he ever suffered such a tragic defeat?
It wasn’t until Chen Rui walked into the court and held him that Paul came back to his senses. He felt as if his body had lost power, and he could only stagger down with Chen Rui’s support.
The news that Samuel defeated the top genius, Paul, and was conferred as the golden knight spread all over Yerodisha in an instant. It seemed to be a chain reaction; the result of the duel triggered a series of events that followed. The resignation of Lyon, the old director of the Empire Academic Affairs Department, was approved by Lex the Great, and the successor was the former Finance Affairs Department director Gruccia; the Academic Affairs Department deputy director Salvador. Norman was transferred to the Military Administration Council; Patriarch Carlo of the Kemplot Family was promoted as the Finance Affairs Department director…
Many discerning people had noticed that this series of personnel changes were more like a long-prepared reshuffling. The so-called duel was just the fuse. In recent years, the church-related family power had expanded more and more which has long aroused Lex the Great’s vigilance. In any case, the supreme ruler of an empire was the king after all.
The Loman Family’s Patriarch Salvador was originally the most popular candidate for the Academic Affairs Department director. Even Lex the Great verbally revealed the relevant intent, but he was now transferred to the Military Administration Council. The position of the 2 councils was higher than that of the 3 departments. This kind of transfer seemed to be a promotion on the surface. In fact, Salvador just carried a nameless t.i.tle in the Military Administration Council. It was not comparable to the Academic Affairs Department’s director who had the real power. The network of contacts and interests that he initially worked hard to build over the years in the Academic Affairs Department would gradually disintegrate too.
This incident caused the Loman Family to suffer a more severe setback than on the surface. The family’s business was affected in all aspects. The initially crowded mansion was now deserted and quiet; no one came to visit. Even the Lincoln Family subordinate, Diego, disappeared. It was the superficiality of human relations.h.i.+ps. Only Chen Rui, the ‘loyal’ subordinate, still stayed in. He continued to encourage the frustrated Paul.
Paul was moved as he watched the sincere eyes of his subordinate. He finally made up his mind to cheer up again and go to the White Cliff to partic.i.p.ate in the selection of Divinity Temple Knight- Poor Paul, he could not see the hidden motives behind Richard’s ‘sincerity’. Otherwise, he would perhaps be moved until his 7 orifices bleed.
TL: That would be a great scene…