Chapter 47: Shocked Tony

Chapter 47: Chapter 47: Shocked Tony

Watching Roy walk away, Tony let out a helpless sigh.

He knew why Roy wanted to go to the Royal Capital in his stead.

But he didn’t want Roy to do it.

In his eyes, it was his duty to protect the members of their clan and uphold its honor.

Sending Roy, who had only been in Cultivation for half a year, to represent the Wesley Clan in the Second Tulip War was no different from sending him to his death.

Even as a newly promoted High Tier Knight, he couldn’t guarantee he would make it back alive.

After taking a few deep breaths to calm himself, Tony grabbed the Fine Steel Cross Sword from the weapon rack and headed toward the plaza in front of the main building.

He soon arrived at the plaza, stopping five or six meters away from Roy.

Although they hadn’t specifically notified anyone, a crowd of soldiers and servants had still gathered around the plaza.

Even Erin and Aili had come to the plaza.

It was no secret within the castle that they intended to decide who would go to the Second Tulip War with a duel.

"You can’t win against me. Just forfeit,"

Tony said to Roy.

"There’s something I forgot to tell you, too. Right now, I’m..."

Roy said, drawing his sword, "...also a High Tier Knight!"

The moment the Fine Steel Cross Sword was fully drawn, a white, flame-like Fighting Qi instantly enveloped the blade.

’How is this possible?’

Tony’s face filled with disbelief as he watched Roy skillfully envelop the Fine Steel Cross Sword in Fighting Qi.

It wasn’t just him. Erin, Aili, and everyone else in the plaza looked on with expressions of shock and astonishment.

"How can you be a High Tier Knight?"

"You’ve only been doing the Cultivation Breathing Technique for half a year!"

Tony demanded.

"Nothing’s impossible."

"Reaching High Tier Knight after half a year of hard Cultivation isn’t that outrageous."

"More importantly, the Ice Wolf Breathing Technique is a perfect fit for me. Cultivating it has been effortless."

Roy said calmly, his expression serene as he looked at Tony.

’He could have revealed even more of his strength—that of a Peak Knight, for example.’

’But after careful consideration, he decided to only reveal the strength of a High Tier Knight.’

’Reaching High Tier Knight in half a year would just make people think he was a genius at Cultivation.’

’But reaching Peak Knight in half a year? That was another matter entirely.’

’Throughout the continent’s history, there had indeed been a few who reached Peak Knight in only half a year.’

’But without exception, all of them came from incredibly distinguished backgrounds.’

’Descendants of Legendary Knights and Golden Great Knights, for instance.’

Hearing Roy’s reply, Tony sighed and said slowly, "No wonder you were so confident!"

"Now I’m curious. When we made that bet about who would go to war, had you even reached Middle Tier Knight yet?"

Roy shook his head. "No. I wasn’t a Middle Tier Knight back then."

’When he’d made that agreement with Tony, he had "only" been in Cultivation for a month.’

Tony fell silent for a few seconds, quelling his inner shock. He continued, "Even if you’re also a High Tier Knight, your chances of beating me aren’t high."

"The outcome of a battle depends on more than just your Level. Experience and skill matter, too!"

The moment he finished speaking, Tony drew his Cross Sword and channeled his Ice Wolf Fighting Qi, wrapping it around the blade.

Then, right in front of Roy, he gave the sword an effortless-looking flourish.

"You’re right. Experience and skill are definitely important factors in deciding a fight."

With that, Roy attacked without a moment’s hesitation.

In the blink of an eye, he closed the five-meter gap and appeared before Tony, his Fine Steel Cross Sword striking like Lightning.

CLANG!

Tony decisively parried, and their Cross Swords clashed violently.

’With his current strength, defeating Tony would be a simple matter.’

’If he used his full power, Tony wouldn’t even be able to block a single strike.’

’But Tony wasn’t an enemy; there was no need to be so ruthless.’

’To protect Tony’s pride, and to maintain his persona as a newly promoted Knight with little combat experience, Roy controlled his Power, Speed, and Fighting Qi, keeping them at the normal level for a High Tier Knight.’

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

The sound of Cross Swords clashing rang out continuously.

As Erin, Aili, and the others watched, Roy and Tony fought neck and neck, seemingly evenly matched.

Time ticked by.

After four or five minutes of fighting, Roy, who could have ended the battle at any moment, seized an opening. With a flick of his wrist, he changed his Cross Sword’s trajectory.

At the same time, he sidestepped Tony’s attack in a flash, spun around behind him, and gently touched the tip of his sword to the back of Tony’s neck.

"You lose."

Roy’s voice rang out from behind him.

The moment Roy dodged, Tony knew things had gone wrong.

But his own momentum made it impossible for him to stop Roy in time.

Feeling the cold steel at the back of his neck, Tony sighed in resignation, dispersed his Ice Wolf Fighting Qi, and sheathed his sword.

He then turned to face Roy, a look of relief and pride on his face. "Father used to say that if you were willing to take up the Cultivation Breathing Technique, you’d progress faster than me."

"Back then, I thought he was just trying to trick you into starting the Cultivation Breathing Technique. Now I see he recognized your talent from the very beginning."

"I’ve been in Cultivation for over ten years longer than you, and I still couldn’t win. I’m pretty useless, huh."

Even though Roy had gone as easy on him as possible, the loss still dealt a blow to Tony’s pride.

After a few seconds of thought, Roy began to console him.

"You didn’t lose because you’re weaker than me. You lost because you weren’t treating this as a real fight."

"You were afraid of hurting me, so you held back."

"If I weren’t your brother, with your experience and skill, I wouldn’t have been able to win..."

Roy paused, sheathing his Cross Sword. "Besides," he continued, "you haven’t been as dedicated as me for the past six months. You’ve spent too much time managing the fief’s affairs."

Tony knew Roy was just trying to make him feel better. "No matter how you put it, I still lost," he replied.

"Don’t worry. Your big brother isn’t a sore loser."

"Since you won, you’ll be the one to lead our men to the Royal Capital."

Roy shook his head. "I’ll go to the Royal Capital, but I won’t be taking anyone with me. I’ll go alone."

From the very beginning, he never had any intention of taking others with him to the Royal Capital.

For one, Ice Wolf Castle’s forces were already pitifully small.

And even if the castle had plenty of soldiers, he wouldn’t have taken anyone else.

’Dragging a group of people along could never compare to the freedom of traveling alone!’

...