"Now, on this side, we have a mysterious wandering knight. This is the genius swordsman, also known as Will!"
"On the other side, is our court swordsman, the captain of the King"s Guard, the great knight of Engido, Glaucus!"
In the Colosseum of Primonius, two concurrent rings formed stadium seats. They were filled with the people of the city. People from all walks of life, including businessmen, knights, and n.o.bles, had come to watch the battles. Though the fight had yet to begin, the scene was already bustling.
At the top of the stands, there was a special seating area for the n.o.bles. At the moment, the king and queen were sitting inside it. There were also several counts and princes present. Today was the last and most intense battle, so the king had come in person.
Verthandi did not see the king after taking down the bounty, but she had interacted with his agent, a court official. Verthandi signed a contract that provided her with a luxurious place to stay.
Several compet.i.tions were arranged for her the next day. As long as she had a winning streak, Verthandi would be recognized by the king as a knight, and she would receive a thousand Gold Lycans before setting off as the Dragonslayer.
If she could return successfully, she would become a baron. She would then receive the remaining nine thousand Gold Lycans.
At first, no one thought that this short, young knight could win, but Will defeated several powerful opponents in rapid succession. As such, she became famous throughout Primonius instantly, and like her first sixteen predecessors, she became the hottest topic in the city!
As long as she defeated the King"s Guard Captain today, she would become a knight, then journey on to slay the dragon and save the princess. Lu Zhiyu stood in the stands, watching Little Trouble struggle in a difficult battle.
There was a gambling station by the king at the entrance. Anyone in the audience could partic.i.p.ate.
Every fight earned a lot of money for the king. Each fight was enough to generate at least a few thousand Gold Lycans. Several hundred fights had already been held, which made Lu Zhiyu deeply suspicious. He wondered whether this guy really wanted to save his daughter, or if he was simply relying on this venture to make money.
"Come on, Little Trouble; Dad is proud of you!" Lu Zhiyu waved a gambling scroll while cheering for Verthandi, who was preparing for battle. Suddenly, her footwork fumbled as she looked up at Lu Zhiyu with murderous eyes.
As the opening bell rang, the two began moving immediately. Their swords clashed, thus beginning the fierce battle. The orc"s great knight, Glaucus, was a wolf-man. Though he was not as tall as the lion-people, he was still a good half a head taller than Little Trouble. He was using his physique to pressure her, and his sword swung in large arcs.
Verthandi"s swordsmans.h.i.+p had been specially designed for her by Lu Zhiyu. At the same time, Lu Zhiyu had also taught her how to face enemies with several different body types, as well as how to face different styles. He had even schooled her in capitalizing on some of the weaknesses of the wizards and priests.
Her swordsmans.h.i.+p was closer to the human styles, with its emphasis on close-range speed. It utilized the least amount of strength and the greatest speed, when facing opponents much greater than her. This helped her to find her opponent"s flaws immediately, so that she could deal a fatal blow.
At this moment, the two fighters danced in the center of the colosseum. Their speeds were incredible. Both of them were knights, who had been trained to their physical limits with awakened bloodline talents.
Their speed and strength far exceeded any ordinary people. To normal folks, this seemed like a fight between G.o.ds. Even the after-images of the swift clas.h.i.+ng swords appeared blurry.
The two continued to attack and avoid each other. They tried to pressure each other through various methods in order to seize the advantage. Yet, under Glaucus"s wide-swung a.s.sault, Verthandi continued to retreat.
Verthandi was completely suppressed by his brute strength. He was not only powerful, but also quite fast. It seemed that he had awakened a bloodline talent that boosted his speed, which nullified Verthandi"s previous advantage. Furthermore, she had just awakened her bloodline talent, while her opponent was an experienced blood knight.
The longsword swept past her blade, edging alarmingly close to Verthandi"s face repeatedly. Verthandi seemed to be in jeopardy, as if she was about to break from the pressure. And yet, Verthandi was always able to somehow avoid the fatal blows at the most crucial moments. Her longsword would always appear at the exact right moment. Also, her defense was remarkably impenetrable.
The longer the battle went on, the more the battle swayed in Verthandi"s favor. The Golden Eye gave her too much of an advantage by his seeking weak points. She gradually became familiar with his power, then finally her eyes burst into light.
Suddenly, she saw a gap in her opponent"s movements. She had found a flaw, and the world seemed to slow. This was due to the partial activation of the potential of her Golden Eye.
Verthandi knocked away Glaucus"s longsword and cut his chainmail, exposing his neck. A faint trail of blood appeared on Glaucus"s neck. Verthandi had initially held back during this attack. Otherwise, Glaucus would have already been dead!
Glaucus looked at Verthandi in disbelief, as he touched his neck. Then, he stopped moving. "I have lost. Congratulations."
As Verthandi gave a knight"s bow, the crowd went wild. The people, who had bet on Verthandi, roared in excitement, while the losers cursed in anger. The others would relay the news of this amazing battle, spreading the name of a mysterious young knight named Will.
As the winner received her honor and glory, the losers exited in frustration. Verthandi was knighted by the king, as he placed a longsword on her shoulder before the crowds, giving her the official t.i.tle of a knight of the Kingdom of Engido. She also received a Knight"s ring, as well as a set of armor that was made by Ur Steel, along with a large bag of gold coins.
Verthandi walked out in a gorgeous skirted armor, a longsword at her waist, a helmet in her left hand, and a bag full of gold coins in her right. She left the colosseum, feeling like a true hero and looking like an epic knight, straight out of a painting.
Lu Zhiyu, Elias, and many acquaintances from the caravan were waiting outside the colosseum. When Verthandi came out, they cheered in unison, as Lu Zhiyu laughed at the front. "Great job, Little Trouble, Dad is proud of you."
Verthandi slammed her helmet to the ground, then drew her sword, slas.h.i.+ng it towards Lu Zhiyu and gnas.h.i.+ng her teeth. "Randhir, you jerk!"
Lu Zhiyu blocked the sword from behind. No matter where Verthandi attacked him from, all of her attempts were easily deflected by one simple flick of Lu Zhiyu"s wrist. Even Verthandi"s Golden Eye had absolutely no effect on him.
However, Verthandi"s sword was very fast, and Lu Zhiyu"s sword seemed extremely slow. It didn"t seem to move with a purpose, but only slowly moved to blocks the attacks. Yet, regardless of how fast Verthandi moved, she would be always be bested by that slow sword! It was as if Lu Zhiyu could guess all of her attacks, thus blocking her every attempt in advance!
Lu Zhiyu stepped forward into the clas.h.i.+ng swords, then tapped Verthandi"s back with the back of his sword. He swept Verthandi to the ground with a kick, then broke out into raucous laughter. "You want to win against your old man now, after defeating two mooks? You need to train for another eight hundred years!"
Verthandi was really angry this time, and she refused to get up. Lu Zhiyu was stumped. "Get up, we"re departing tomorrow for the Amos Icefield. It"s time to prepare to kill the dragon. Don"t you want to be a real knight? Dragonslayer, epic knight, hero... Don"t you want those fancy t.i.tles?"
Verthandi turned her head, exclaiming in indignation, "I know how powerful I am! I can"t beat the dragon. I will die, and become dragon dung, like the 16 idiots before me."
Lu Zhiyu patted his chest. "Don"t you trust me? This old man still has some treasures at the bottom of the suitcase to pa.s.s on to you!"