"I, I surrender."
The moment I pierced the shoulder of the knight, the fight was already over.
"Winner, young lord Callius."
<A 3-star knight has been defeated.>
<Quest, [Beat the Knights] advanced to the third stage.>
Hearing the system voice in my head at the same time, the voice of George just confirmed it.
"Just, what are these moves?"
"How can he move like that? Isn't he talentless?"
Slowly making my way to the left side, I started waiting for another contestant between all those surprised voices of the audience.
***
/THUD/ /SPLURT/
"…"
"Young Lord wins."
Looking at the unconscious knight in front of me, I heard the voice of George.
<A four-star knight has been defeated.>
<Quest, [Beat the Knights] reached fourth stage.>
'Even until the end, he has never accepted his defeat. Good pride is essential, but without strength to back it up, it would not be optimal.'
I thought while looking at the blood stains on the floor. Although he put up a good fight, in the end, he was still a four-star. The way he used his sword was different from the others, and it took quite a little time for me to figure out the way he moved, his habits, and his mistakes.
But it was still not a challenge in the end.
***
"Jon Perkins."
Hearing the sound of the knight in my front, I turned my head, looking at him.
Name – Jon Perkins
Age – 20
Class – Knight
Knight Rank – 5-star
Attributes – Fire
Looking at the bulky man with yellow hair on my front with my [All Seeing Eye] activated, I answered.
"Let's begin right away."
"Understood."
His attitude was not bad and was worthy of a knight. His serious complexion was also showing that he was taking this duel seriously.
Grabbing the Claymore and shield, he started approaching.
'Hmm, a shield user in duels. That's pretty rare.'
Using shields in duels generally wouldn't be recommended since it limits users' speed. But, if one trusts their physical strength, what can I do?
Grabbing my sword, I started approaching the middle as well.
"Are both contestants ready?"
Seeing the nod, George threw the coin into the air.
/THUD/ /SWOOSH/
Which marked the start of the duel.
***
Looking at the scene unfolding in front of his eyes, George was surprised.
'The footwork he is using, it is the same one Lord Austin has used in the past.'
He thought while observing the unique footsteps of Callius.
/SWOOSH/ /CLANK/ /CLANK/
'However, he is trying to hide the full potential of his footwork. Is it to surprise stronger opponents?'
/CLANK/ /THUD/
Watching the fight in the arena, he saw Callius was slightly being pushed back.
'It seems like he is being pushed back, but in reality, he is trying to analyze his enemy's movement patterns. What a terrifying monster. However, his sword is yet to be refined.'
George thought while remembering a conversation he had had with his lord.
"George, why do you think we are teaching you the lesser version of the Augustride Family's footwork to the knights?"
"Is it because you want to keep the knights under your control?"
"That is also a reason, but not the biggest one. What do you think is the main reason?"
"Hmm, I don't know. Nothing comes into my mind aside from that."
"You see, George. It took me, the strongest member of our family, ten years just to master this footwork, and it generally took twelve to fifteen years for other members to master it. Now, how long do you think it would take a regular knight to master it?"
"I see. It would take too much longer, and-"
"And we can't afford to waste this many resources and time on a normal knight."
With a slight smile on his face, he kept watching the fight.
'At the age of twelve, he had already mastered more than 80% of the footwork. Lord Austin, did you know it beforehand? Was that the reason you were this hard on Young Lord? I wish he had at least a class.'
Looking at the young child holding his ground in front of a huge knight with a shield, he thought.
'Such a pity that he can't get stronger than that.'
/CLANK/ /SWOOSH/ /SPLURT/
At that moment, a rapier pierced the wrist of the knight holding the sword, and then it pointed to the knight's neck.
"You lost, Jon."
A cold voice of a young child echoed in the arena, with everyone being quiet.
"I surrender, young lord. It is your win."
And the knight replied, supporting his body while sticking his shield to the ground.
Seeing the kneeling knight in front of the young kid with cold red eyes, it was time for George to announce the duel was over.
'Heschel. What a stupid kid you are. Why did you have to mess with such a monster?'
Thinking like that, he announced the winner of the duel.
"Young Lord Callius wins."
***
Fighting with Jon was not that hard. Although he was a good fighter and he used his shield quite effectively, analyzing his movements was still not a challenge for me.
And the moment I figured his habits out, the fight was easy. Baiting him to attack me with his shield and then piercing his wrist holding his sword, making him unarmed, the fight was over in at most five minutes.
<A five-star knight is defeated.>
<Quest, [Beat the Knights] reached fifth stage.>
Just like that, I finished my third fight. Walking to the right side, I decided to drink a stamina potion since continuously fighting four fights, even though I won all of them, was still hard.
/GULP/
With a refreshing feeling, I started waiting for another contestant to appear.
Now you might be wondering, how can I beat a knight who honed his skills on the battlefield in years? This would probably don't make any sense to any normal person, either.
However, note that there are two existences in this world called mana and aura. And in a normal battlefield, there won't be a rule banning the usage of mana and aura.
No, it is the opposite. You will have to use your mana and aura to survive. Therefore, the knights have mostly trained their skills related to the usage of their aura and mana since pure swordsmanship can get you to a certain point which basically would be a fatal fact on a real battlefield.
That was the reason why I was pretty sure I would at least be able to defeat the knights to the six-star rank. Since after that point, other forces may appear.
While I was thinking like that, my fourth opponent had already arrived.
Brown hair, blue eyes, tanned skin, with good looks. His toned body, which was not bulky but not wimpy either, showed he was also a veteran.
"I will be your opponent, young lord."
"State your name."
I said while activating my [All Seeing Eye].
Name – Bernard the Agile
Age – 22
Class – Knight
Knight Rank – 6-star
Attributes – Sand
"My name is Bernard, young Lord. It will be an honor to duel with you."
Bowing his head, he said while grabbing his sword.
'Hmm, a curved sword, no. Curved dual sword, a scimitar? He must be from the south. This explains why he doesn't have a last name, then. He is a commoner.'
I thought.
"We shall begin then."
Slowly taking our positions, we started waiting for the signal.
This time, George looked into our eyes and then threw the coin, not bothering with the boring talk.
/THUD/ /SWOOSH/ /SWOOSH/
And the moment the coin hit the ground, we dashed to each other…
***
"Huff, huff, huff."
"Kurrgh-, I surrender."
Between my heavy breaths, I heard the sound of the knight in my front. He surrendered, seeing the blade pointing out his neck.
"Young Lord Callius wins."
Although I was able to win, this fight was the hardest one I had fought so far. This guy really deserves his title.
He was fast. If not for my unique footwork, I don't think I would be able to defeat him. Reading his movements was also hard since he understood the way I fought while observing my fights and tried to not give me any chance to analyze.
"I shall acknowledge your efforts. You are a good fighter."
Slowly retreating my blade while taking control of my breath, I said with a slight smile.
Trampling on a strong enemy, beating such a talented person, feeling you are better than the person in your front, there is no better feeling than that in the world.
<A six-star knight has been defeated.>
<Quest, [Beat the Knights] reached sixth stage.>
Slowly walking to the side, I started waiting for my next enemy while clearing my head.
It started taking a toll on my mind, fighting continuously while constantly thinking.
/GULP/
Grabbing another stamina position, I started waiting.
***
Name – Julia Morton
Age – 21
Class – Knight
Knight Rank – Seven-star
Attributes – Ice
"Julia Morton. I will be your opponent, Callius."
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