“I am Luo En Yilwan Logan, son of Baron Ili.” This time Luo En’s tone carried a bit of temper. “This… noble sir insulted me, then not only refused my duel but also allowed his men to attack me. Knight, I request the exercise of noble rights to complete a duel with this noble sir.”
Luo En was much more composed now. A month ago, he would have probably just swung his sword.
After hearing Luo En’s statement, the Blue Armored Knight did not act hastily. Although Luo En appeared to be a commoner, an assassination case twenty-five years ago had taught the Royal Capital Guards a lesson. Judging by appearance always causes problems. Even if the Blue Armored Knight subjectively didn’t believe Luo En, he still had to go through the procedure before deciding.
“Please present your proof of identity.”
Luo En was silent. It seemed he hadn’t brought any family crest or similar items when he left home. As for proof, all he had was the longsword in his hand. But what could a sword prove? At worst, the other party could just claim he picked it up.
Seeing that Luo En couldn’t produce proof, the Blue Armored Knight was ready to draw his sword. Not that he intended to cut Luo En down in the street, but Luo En’s skills seemed quite good, and the knight feared he might lose face.
Luo En lifted his longsword again, holding it horizontally before his chest. He couldn’t produce anything more convincing, but if the Blue Armored Knight actually attacked, he wasn’t afraid. ‘At worst, I can ask Teacher Astraea to step in. In my view, the little elf should be able to beat a fully armored regular knight, right?’
Fat chance.
Although the little elf seemed lovestruck, she knew her own limits. The combat power of a regular knight was beyond that of ordinary soldiers or goblins. They had superhuman physiques. If given a stable environment to chant magic, the little elf could indeed defeat a regular knight. But in a one-on-one fight, the little elf would only get thrashed by a regular knight. Furthermore, the Blue Armored Knight was a knight of the Royal Capital Guard, whose combat power could not be compared to ordinary knights. The little elf would only lose faster against such an enemy. But then again, she didn’t need to fight in the Royal Capital. After all, the only thing now was to find a way to prove Luo En’s identity.
Astraea, who had been watching the whole time, saw Luo En’s embarrassed expression and understood the situation perfectly. She happened to have a solution. So she stepped forward, blocking between Luo En and the Blue Armored Knight, and said, “Knight sir, I have a way to prove it.”
The Blue Armored Knight’s aura suddenly pressed down on the little elf. He had long noticed her as the source of the dispute, but he didn’t expect this Heteromorph to dare obstruct his justice. Astraea naturally wasn’t afraid of the Blue Armored Knight’s pressure. She had even looked directly at a deity; this level was just child’s play.
She simply reached out to touch Luo En, and then a golden light radiated from her body. Upon sensing the aura emanating from the golden light, the Blue Armored Knight immediately snapped to attention.
“This is a contract signed under the witness of the All-Father, sufficient to prove Luo En’s identity.”
Astraea spoke amidst the golden light. Although she was only wearing a coarse green cloak, against such a high-spec effect, she almost looked like a saint. If only this saint didn’t have a pair of pointed ears, it would be even better.
And under the illumination of the golden light, the young man who had been constantly provoking them turned deathly pale. ‘This was the power of the All-Father! The identity of that Luo En could not be fake, otherwise he would have been burned to ashes! And if the other party’s identity was real…’
The young man understood what this meant. He had inadvertently insulted a noble and even refused his duel. This would ruin his reputation in the Royal Capital! His father might even disown him to protect his purchased title, since his father had more than one son. ‘I cannot accept such an outcome! Now, only by accepting Luo En’s duel can I salvage my reputation.’
But when the young man’s gaze fell upon the longsword in Luo En’s hand, the image of Luo En easily facing four elite guards surfaced in his mind. He found his hand trembling as he held his straight sword. Although he had been shouting words like “trash,” he knew the true strength of those guards. He had only been so arrogant because he believed Luo En was just a common slave trader. Now he did not think he could win against Luo En.
“Then, knight, may I request that this noble sir complete the duel with me?”
“Of course, it is your right.” The Blue Armored Knight saluted Luo En and then led his squad away. Now it was a dispute between two nobles, which no longer fell under his jurisdiction. As for that elf Heteromorph… she could stand unharmed under the All-Father’s gaze—that was incredibly loyal! The Church might even canonize her. The Blue Armored Knight just wanted to leave quickly to avoid any entanglement with those religious fanatics.
Luo En’s gaze returned to the young man. The golden light on his body had not yet dissipated, making him appear blessed by a deity. ‘Maybe this state could be called a divine man?’ Astraea couldn’t help but crack a smile at that thought.
But joys and sorrows vary among people. Hearing the exclamations and even fervent prayers of the surrounding rabble, the young man only found it noisy. ‘Luo En now looks like he could cut ten of me in half with one sword stroke. So what’s the point of dueling? Unless…’
The young man looked at the petite little elf. ‘Although she’s a Heteromorph, with her slender arms and legs, she definitely can’t beat me, right?’
The young man immediately spoke up: “This is unfair! You are tall and your weapon is superior. Dueling you is not fair to me!”
“Oh? Then what do you want?”
“Send her to fight in your place!”
Luo En laughed, laughed in anger. He had never expected there to be such an shameless person in the world. ‘Look at what he’s saying! Requesting a substitute in a duel? Is this still a duel?’
Not to mention Luo En, even the four guards didn’t want to look at their young master, afraid of being associated with him. Too shameful. The onlooking crowd of busybodies even let out a chorus of boos.
The young man’s face alternated between green and white, but he insisted on his request. Since he couldn’t escape the duel, he had to choose an opponent who looked weaker, right?
Luo En was about to refuse, but Astraea became interested. ‘To be able to openly beat someone up in the Royal Capital of the Human Kingdom—what a wonderful opportunity!’ So the little elf’s small hand secretly tugged at Luo En’s sleeve. Upon seeing her expression, he understood her intention.
“Fine, then she’ll fight in my place.”
Luo En stepped back a few paces, giving up the field. The little elf turned to face the young man, who looked as if his plan had succeeded.
Astraea wound the rope from the collar around her body, then drew the straight sword at her waist. She spread her legs, the sword’s tip angled upward toward the young man. Without magical enhancement, the little elf could send the young man—whose holding posture wasn’t even correct—to his knees using only her physical strength.
The young man struck first, swinging his sword fiercely. Astraea thrust her straight sword like lightning. With a clang, the young man’s sword got caught on the crossguard of the little elf’s straight sword, while her sword tip was less than a centimeter from his throat.
The onlookers gasped in unison. The little elf’s sword was so fast that these ordinary people couldn’t even see it; they only knew that this tiny elf had instantly defeated the young man with one strike.
Astraea pouted in boredom. This young man was even worse than Luo En before he was blessed by the god. His steps were unsteady, his sword swings were limp—it was like fighting a child. She lost interest in sparring with him after just one move.
“You lose.”
The little elf withdrew her straight sword and said coldly. Her voice was soft, but to the young man’s ears, it was like the sharpest ice.
“Look at that loser! Lost to a Heteromorph!”
Someone in the crowd shouted, followed by another burst of laughter. The young man whipped his head toward the sound, but the speaker was lost in the crowd, impossible to identify.
The young man’s anger grew. He felt as if infinite power surged into his body. “Just a mere Heteromorph…”
He gritted his teeth. As the little elf turned around, rage completely clouded his mind. He lifted his straight sword again and thrust it fiercely at her back.
Luo En’s pupils contracted. He immediately grabbed his longsword to block the strike for the little elf, but he was some distance from the field. Even though his strength was now comparable to a regular knight, he couldn’t make it in time. According to calculations from his enhanced brain, at best he could only parry the young man’s sword after it had already injured the little elf.
“Die!”
The young man’s face twisted in a grimace as he thrust his straight sword with reckless abandon. But unfortunately, no red light emanated from his body. The so-called power was just an illusion born of his anger.
Astraea detected the young man’s intention the moment he launched his attack, and she reacted instantly. Considering that forming a magic circuit took time, and drawing her sword also took time, the little elf simply crouched down. She was already petite, and now with this crouch, she completely vanished from the young man’s attack range.
After a brief moment of shock, the young man immediately tried to change his thrust into a slash, but this time he was too late.
Luo En’s longsword slammed into him with its flat side. The immense force sent the young man flying, and his straight sword flew from his hand, landing beside the little elf with a clatter.
Seeing the young man flying toward them, the onlookers didn’t catch him. Instead, they moved aside to let him fall to the ground. His reputation in this area was indeed bad. If he weren’t a noble, the crowd might have joined in to stomp on him.
Only the four guards ran over and clumsily helped their young master up from the ground.
“Loser, get lost!”
After confirming the little elf was unharmed, Luo En turned back and said with anger. He hadn’t held back at all; the young man’s ribs were nearly all broken, and his spine might be damaged too. If he could still stand on his own in the future, it would be by the gods’ blessing.
Astraea stood up, brushed off non-existent dust, and then looked at the straight sword on the ground.
“Luo En…”