Chapter 497 274: Baron Constantin Defeated You?

The two traded blows, a flurry of slashes and chops. With every clash of their blades, torrents of Spiritual Power erupted, powerful enough to shatter walls and tear up the ground. Any Knight who tried to block these blasts was thrown back twenty to thirty meters.

This showed just how intense and high-level their battle was—far beyond the reach of ordinary men.

Even the ever-proud Lion's Eye and Griffin Knights present had to admit that this unremarkable Attendant was the real deal. They likely wouldn't last more than a few rounds against him themselves.

And amidst these shifting sentiments, the battle suddenly rushed to its conclusion.

Jill seized an opportunity and sent Baron's sword flying.

In a life-or-death battle, for a warrior to lose their weapon was to lose their life.

The Attendant's defeat was sealed.

A cheer erupted from the crowd. The Knights breathed a collective sigh of relief, wiping the cold sweat from their brows. To think they had actually worried that Jill might lose to this man.

It seemed they had been worrying for nothing.

Only Aile remained silent, his gaze fixed on Jill's sword hand. It was trembling visibly.

Sure enough, contrary to the expectations of the guests and Knights, Jill didn't press his golden opportunity. Instead, he lowered his sword. With a complex expression, he looked at the unarmed Baron and said:

"I've lost."

Silence. A dead, stagnant silence.

Then, like a stone tossed into a still pond, ripples of sound spread.

"What is he talking about? Did he say he lost?"

"Didn't he win? Can one of the Law Enforcers explain what's going on?"

Claire clutched her handkerchief, her delicate brows furrowing slightly as she watched her cousin.

The Knights exchanged confused glances, clearly not expecting Jill to say something like that.

One of the Griffin Knights announced to those around him, "This is Captain Jill showing his admiration and respect for the Attendant. He feels this man's skill is truly outstanding and worthy of respect."

Everyone suddenly understood. So, Jill Hestia wasn't pressing his advantage out of chivalry and respect for his opponent!

And so, one by one, they began to applaud, presumably in praise of the chivalry displayed by the vice-captain of the Griffin Knight Order.

But the applause began as quickly as it faded, because Jill spoke again. His next words made the shower of applause vanish as if it had never been.

He said, "It was I who lost."

Everyone thought they had misheard and exchanged glances.

The Knights' eyes went wide, their ramrod-straight postures tensing.

Aile, as if realizing something, looked at the sword in Jill's hand…

'Could it be…?'

He was filled with shocked uncertainty. 'That can't be possible, can it? If he can do that, this Attendant's control over his Spiritual Power is terrifying... So why would he choose to be a Knight or a Demon Hunter? Wouldn't it be better to just become a Wizard? Hmm, maybe he doesn't have a Lawbook for the Wizard class.'

"It was my loss. During our fight, you used every clash of our blades to infuse your Spiritual Power into the sword I'm holding."

Jill spoke between heavy, ragged breaths, a testament to the intensity of his battle with Baron. He held his sword horizontally, gazing at Baron's reflection in the blade, which was as clear as jade-green water.

"Right now, this sword is completely beyond my control. You can use your Spiritual Power to make it veer off course the moment I attack... I only just realized it myself."

At these words, the guests and Knights present were left completely stunned.

What did it even mean to infuse one's Spiritual Power into an opponent's sword with every clash of blades?

The guests weren't Law Enforcers, but as members of the Old Race who possessed Spiritual Sense, they had some idea of just how difficult Spiritual Power was to control.

To give a simple example, the Old Race's perception of the Spiritual Power in their own blood was still limited to the most basic level—merely being aware of it flowing through their bodies.

At most, with training, they might be able to draw out a ten-millionth of that Spiritual Power from their bodies to use Taboo Items and alchemy items.

Beyond that, Spiritual Power was of no other use to them.

As for better controlling the flow of Spiritual Power for self-reinforcement, or projecting it externally, those were abilities for after one became a Law Enforcer. But frankly, even an average Law Enforcer who didn't specifically train in these areas likely viewed Spiritual Power as nothing more than a resource to fuel their Authority.

For Knights, who were themselves Law Enforcers, externally projecting Spiritual Power was even less of a concern.

This was because it was an ability only Bronze Tier Law Enforcers—whose Spiritual Power met the required standard in both quality and quantity—could achieve. Moreover, training to the point of being able to project Spiritual Power externally required a massive investment of time. With that same time, a Law Enforcer would be better off meditating and cultivating to improve their Spiritual Power's quality, striving to break through to the Silver Tier before old age set in.

Even if not a true Silver, becoming a Pseudo-Silver was a fine goal. At that level, one's Spiritual Power would be so vast that the so-called external projection would come naturally. The only drawback was that the consumption would likely be greater than for a Law Enforcer who had mastered the skill earlier.

It was like building a race car. Others would meticulously consider aerodynamics, wind resistance, and ground effect to make their car faster. You, on the other hand, would consider none of that and simply cram in the most powerful engine you could find, achieving the same result as the car they had painstakingly designed.

Thus, as a matter of professional tendency, no other class at the same tier would bother spending the effort to specifically train this skill—with the exception of Wizards, who practiced external projection at length for safety reasons and for what they called "Wizardly elegance." And even if they did train it, they could never achieve something so absurd as projecting their Spiritual Power directly into an opponent's weapon in the middle of a fight.