NovelKBC Chapter 836 - 60: The Duel
Chapter 836 - 60: The Duel
Losa was about to refuse when a hand gently tugged at his arm.
"Captain, this is my battle."
In Viviana’s hand, a candlestick lit up. Her other fair hand reached into the flames, and with a clink, drew a double-bladed knight’s sword nearly a meter long: "Let me handle it myself."
She was quite familiar with Ruprecht’s gaze, reminiscent of challengers who had once been forced to accept the script of a "loser," like her colleagues in the Rose Knight Order.
They believed that her skills were merely a fluke of talent, privileged upbringing, and the Emperor’s favor, cobbled together like a fancy vase more ornamental than useful.
As if with these conditions, anyone could piece together a Sword Master.
Losa hesitated; Viviana’s current strength compared to her peak was far too inferior, not to mention Ruprecht had twenty more years of experience; even at her prime, she might not be his match.
Lavinia whispered, "Losa, let me make up for the power Anna is missing."
Though Viviana’s strength had been greatly diminished, her insight and swordsmanship remained. Candle Burning and Shadow Extinguishing in Tier One, and Candle Extinguishing in Tier Two, were not unlocked but that didn’t mean they couldn’t be used; it’s just that the power she possessed was not enough to execute them.
Just like Furin, who, even before reaching Elite, had several times used Half-Step Tyrant Transformation.
Thinking of this, Losa no longer obstructed her.
This was just a spar, not a life-and-death duel. For Viviana, wins or losses both brought gains. A dignified Candle Knight is not a coward who can’t bear the cost of failure.
Viviana stepped before Ruprecht: "You want the honor of being the first swordsman of the German Imperial Family, don’t you?"
The Crown Prince nodded silently. What he desired went beyond honor; after all, this wasn’t a competition in the public eye. What he wanted was simple, to conquer the mountain in his heart, so that in the future, when people mention "if the Candle Knight were still here," he could dismiss it with a smile.
The attendant, with a sob in his voice, pleaded: "Your Highnesses, please ensure this is just a spar, and not a bloody duel, otherwise I can’t explain it to the King, the Elector, or His Majesty the Emperor."
Ruprecht silently pushed him away, an invisible force encasing him, sending him hundreds of meters away — two people of similar strength going all out; no one could guarantee not to harm the other’s life.
"Your wound?"
"It’s nothing."
Viviana shook her head and said, "If you’re ready, let’s begin!"
Always gentle and calm, Viviana, with a poet-like temperament, at this moment felt like a blade drawn from its sheath, sharp and unrestrained.
Losa suddenly realized something, perhaps Viviana didn’t need his protection, beneath her soft exterior, she still had the heart of a warrior, a heart adhering to the knight’s spirit, daring to stand on the walls of Constantinople and face the Three-headed Demon Dragon.
The Decree’s Golden Radiance painted a golden hue at dusk, and the moment it infused into Viviana, the dim and flickering candlelight grew even darker.
A gentle breeze swept through, the candle flame flickered a few times and then extinguished completely.
Candle extinguished, light and shadow vanished.
This was the Sword Skill of the Candle Knight in Tier Two, with all light and shadow disappearing from the world, darkness engulfed Ruprecht.
Standing in this darkness, the Crown Prince wasn’t afraid, instead, he grew excited: "Light and Shadow Swordsmanship?"
Like Viviana, he was also a Demon Swordsman.
The Wittelsbach Family of Bavaria, since the time of the Lion Henry from the Welf Family in the Middle Ages where Losa was, had ruled one of the Four Major States of the Holy Roman Empire, Bavaria, for over seven hundred years.
Back then, the Habsburg Family was nestled in the Swiss mountains, and the Hohenzollern Family was merely a Count of Zollern. This ancient heritage endowed them with profound depths, and long ago, the Wittelsbach Family established their own Mage Tower in Southern Germany.
He murmured softly: "The Hohenzollern’s heritage should also be tested against the Witsbach Family."
In the darkness, a candle flame suddenly lit up.
Ruprecht immediately got ready, for light and shadow are not opposites but interdependent; on the contrary, darkness is the true enemy of shadow.
Suddenly, more than a dozen black shadows flashed across the area where the candlelight was cast. They wore tall "hart-antler" hoods, and the black shadows turned into flying robes, with their blades nearly simultaneously stabbing from all directions.
Clang—
Ruprecht drew his sword, his vast magic energy infused into his body, and his knight’s sword swung with impenetrable defense, resisting the assault of the over ten shadows with ease.
"They are all real?"
A flicker of confusion crossed the Crown Prince’s face. He had thought it was a trick: "But such an attack doesn’t pose much pressure. Viviana, after all these years, is this all that’s left of your swordsmanship?"
As he finished speaking, his knight’s sword swept through, countless sharp sword marks forming a net that, in an instant, shredded the attacking shadows into floating black patches.
Following this, the flame in the darkness abruptly went out, and when it was rekindled, it appeared behind Ruprecht.
The black and white robed Candle Knight walked out from that flickering flame, thrusting at the Crown Prince.
Clang—
It was as if he had eyes on his back, blocking the sword with precision.
Then, countless dazzling sword auras bloomed around him.
Yet the Crown Prince’s defense was impeccable, and for a while, they both fell into a stalemate.
The sword light grew denser, like a torrential rain battering the Crown Prince at the shore, yet he did not seem worried that prolonged defense would lead to failure, only continuing to defend and having the leisure to mock: "Slow, still too slow, a bit faster, I hope the Candle Knight I’ve chased after for so many years isn’t just at this level?"
Viviana’s expression remained unchanged.
In battle, Viviana would become focused immediately, a knight’s dedication to combat.
Every renowned Sword Master who fought with him would receive an unstated hint from the Emperor to "not win," but not every Master would submit to the Emperor’s will. In fact, when they truly stepped into the arena, they realized that even with all their might, they could not win.
The Emperor’s hint turned out to be a veil for these Masters.
And given Viviana’s moral perspective, she clearly wouldn’t uncover these so-called Sword Masters.
"I heard that in a duel with a Cyclops, you struck three hundred and one times in a single second. Remarkable speed, indeed the Swift Light and Shadow, but it’s only fast. With such flimsy swordsmanship, it can’t hurt me."
Able to slash through the tough skin of a Cyclops, Viviana’s sword was not just flamboyant speed; speed and power, after all, are always complementary.
Ruprecht, it seemed, already had
Viviana still didn’t respond; her duels were always elegant, but that didn’t mean she hadn’t experienced darkness. When she first made her debut, she fought no less against ruffians, landless knights, and gang thugs.
The mouths on those people were much fouler than Ruprecht’s.
"My turn!"
Ruprecht, who had been on the defensive, finally struck back for the first time, as if seeing through the true form of the Candle Knight hidden among thousands of lights and shadows, he no longer defended, directly thrusting his sword forward.
...
Losa couldn’t guess who would win; he was indeed a Sword Master, walking a path similar to Viviana’s as a Demon Warrior, but due to the "Domain" separating them, he could only view the situation as if through a mist.
It seems that every strong person who meets the standards has this kind of Divine Realm-like method.
Although he now met the strength requirements, after True Dragon Transformation, even Ladon at his peak might not be his match, he still felt his abilities were too straightforward.