After speaking, the announcer closed the scroll.
The crowd in the square, always eager for excitement, immediately erupted in deafening cheers.
"A duel, blood... as long as it's not our own blood, does it really matter whose it is?" Pas sighed helplessly.
The announcer pulled out an identical parchment scroll and handed it in turn to Count Caspar and Yilin, having them sign and affix their seals.
Turning around, he held the two parchment scrolls high and announced loudly: "The duel begins——!"
The cheering grew even more exuberant this time, with some people on the city walls even throwing flowers. Who cared about the reason for the duel? They were here just to witness an exciting spectacle to spice up their mundanely dull lives.
"How's your combat skill off the horse?" Pas turned his face aside to ask.
"Never tried." Gray answered honestly.
"Never tried fighting off the horse?" Pas was stunned.
"Right."
"Well, that's certainly good news. Let's hope whoever you face chooses mounted combat. If it's mounted combat, I'd even believe you could single-handedly take them all down—if your stamina holds up. By the way, where's your horse?"
"Outside, couldn't get it in."
Pas casually beckoned to one of Yilin's attendants, instructing them to accompany Gray to fetch the Bone Horse inside.
...
The competition began.
In the first round of mounted combat, Yilin's side sent out a young knight with a buzz cut, while Caspar's side sent out a middle-aged knight with long hair and a heavyset build.
As the two horses crossed paths, Yilin's knight was directly knocked off and fell unconscious.
Round one, victory to the Caspar family.
The second round was still mounted combat. This time, Yilin's side sent out a knight with a ponytail and a handsome face to replace the buzz-cut knight.
As the horses crossed paths, both lances struck the opponents' shields almost simultaneously, snapping in two. Drawing their longswords, the two knights continued the fight on horseback. After about five exchanges, the pony-tailed knight knocked the heavyset knight off his horse.
Round two, victory to Yilin.
In the third round, the pony-tailed knight cast a long glance at Huoersi from afar and changed the duel to combat on foot. Armed with dual swords, he easily defeated the chain armor sword-and-shield warrior sent by the opposing side.
In the fourth round, again a foot battle, the pony-tailed knight easily vanquished the spear-and-shield warrior sent by the opposition.
Having now led his horse back onto the field, Gray watched silently, beginning to contemplate what he would do in the event of a foot duel. It was a troubling thought.
In the fifth round, continuing his streak, the pony-tailed knight, through deft swordsmanship, managed to defeat the opposing side's two-handed sword warrior after an intense fight.
The cheers from the crowd reached a fever pitch.
"Who is this guy?" Lovestruck young women began inquiring about the heroic knight's name.
"Mike Barack. Heard he's a baron! Unmarried! More details will cost you!" A shameless merchant peddling gossip chimed in with the intel.
"Waaahhhh——!"
Amidst the uproarious cheers, the sixth round began. The opposing side sent out a towering figure over seven feet tall, all muscles, wielding a massive two-handed warhammer—"the Giant."
Sitting on the high platform, Yilin's expression flickered for a moment, while Count Caspar next to her maintained his ever-smiling visage.
Before overwhelming strength, skill often seems feeble. Unexpectedly, Mike still chose foot combat.
The massive warhammer, the heavy armor—Mike struck over a dozen times, landing a few blows that barely grazed the giant but failed to hit any vital points or even slow him down. Conversely, the giant swung his hammer in a sweeping arc, sending Mike flying. He crashed heavily, smashing through a fence. If bystanders hadn't pushed him back into the ring, he likely would've been out already.
Struggling to rise from the ground, he glanced at Yilin from afar, clenched his teeth, and charged again.
The fight was fierce, and Yilin's knight was valiant, but this was already Mike's fifth duel of the day. Even at full strength, he might not have been able to defeat this "Giant," let alone now.
After a few exchanges, Mike could barely stay on his feet.
"What a powerful weapon. It even looks so much simpler to wield than a sword," Gray remarked in awe.
"Of course it's powerful. The heavier the weapon, the more destruction it causes—if you can lift it," Pas replied casually.
Finally, Mike was stomped to the ground, the giant's warhammer pointed at his head.
The crowd, which had been cheering for Mike earlier, fell silent. Daughters of noble families covered their mouths in distress.
"Yield or not!?" the "Giant" bellowed.
"Never!" Mike, bloodied and barely alive, used his last ounce of strength to reply.
The warhammer was raised high.
"Yield!" Yilin suddenly stood up from the high platform.
All eyes instantly turned toward her.
Lying in the center of the arena, Mike stared at Yilin in a daze.
Two attendants quickly stepped forward to carry him off.
Yilin lifted the hem of her gown and hurried down from the platform, walking to her faction's side and kneeling beside the barely breathing Mike. She gently held his hand.
"I... I'm sorry, Miss Yilin... I failed to keep my vow to protect you till the end," Mike murmured weakly.
"No, you've done your duty. At this point, your loyalty proves you're true to your vows," Yilin said softly.
Mike bit his lip, tears welling up in his eyes.
Looking around at her remaining knights, Yilin spoke quietly, "You are all my most loyal knights. This match is critical for me, but I do not want any of you to perish in the duel. Do you understand?"
"Yes!"
Among the crowd, Yilin noticed Gray timidly raising his hand.
"Do you have a question?" she asked.
"I want to ask, if we win, can we receive an official knightly title?"
One of the knights beside her whispered to Yilin, "He's a mercenary we hired."
"I know," Yilin replied, looking at Gray. She said gently, "Haven't we already granted you knightly titles?"
"I mean official knightly titles," Gray clarified, pointing to Pas nearby. "He said ours are temporary."
"You want an official knighthood?"
"Yes."
"Fine. If you defeat fifty opponents for me in this competition and ensure my ultimate victory, I'll grant you an official knightly title—a baron with land."
"Deal."
The moment the word "deal" left his lips, Pas stared at Gray with wide eyes, as if he couldn't believe his ears.
The other knights around them burst into laughter.
"What did he just say? Deal?"
"Does he actually think he can defeat fifty opponents? Is this a joke?"
"Maybe he's lost his wits from raising cats too long?"
Amid the laughter, Gray persisted, seriously negotiating: "But I'll need a proper weapon. Could you—"
Yilin clearly had no interest in listening to Gray anymore.
With the seventh match about to begin, she lifted the hem of her gown once more and turned to head back to the high platform.
Gray wanted to follow, but Huoersi stopped him with an outstretched hand. "Just focus on your task and don't overthink it, got it?"