Chapter 161: The Duel Of Innocence [2]

Elias took a deep breath as he tightened his grip around Lastbane, and while his eyes remained fixed on Belthon, he quietly gave an order in his mind.

’Add ten points to both strength and speed.’

The system immediately responded.

[Strength/Constitution: 40 → 50]

[Speed/Agility: 37 → 47]

The changes were instantaneous.

A subtle surge of strength spread through Elias’s limbs, while his body seemed to become lighter and more responsive. His feet felt steadier against the stone beneath him, and even the weight of Lastbane seemed to lessen in his hands.

However, Elias did not allow the change to show.

He lowered his center of gravity and rushed forward.

Lastbane swept toward Belthon’s shoulder in a straightforward diagonal slash, but the knight calmly raised his sword and caught the attack near the middle of his blade. The impact rang across the training ground, yet Belthon barely moved before twisting his wrist and pushing Lastbane aside.

Elias immediately followed with a thrust toward Belthon’s chest.

Belthon stepped half a pace to the side, allowing the tip of Lastbane to pass beside him, and then brought his sword toward Elias’s ribs.

Elias hurriedly raised Lastbane and blocked.

The crimson Aura coating Belthon’s sword crashed into his weapon, and the force drove Elias backward across the stone.

He steadied himself and attacked again.

This time, he swung horizontally toward Belthon’s waist, but Belthon lowered his sword and parried the strike with such precision that Elias’s blade was knocked away from its intended path.

Elias turned his wrist and recovered before launching another attack, yet the pattern remained the same.

His attacks were direct.

His movements were competent.

And Belthon blocked nearly every strike without difficulty.

At the same time, Elias struggled to defend himself whenever Belthon attacked.

A downward slash forced him to raise Lastbane above his head, and the impact drove his arms downward as his knees bent. Before he could fully recover, Belthon twisted his sword and struck toward Elias’s side.

Elias hurriedly stepped backward and barely avoided the blade.

The crowd erupted.

"Sir Belthon is dominating him!"

"Lord Elias cannot even counterattack!"

"Keep going, Sir Belthon!"

Elias ignored them as he steadied his breathing.

He could have fought differently and more skillfully.

With his current abilities, he could use Tyrannical Giant’s Immovable Stance and the SS-Grade sword that he had obtained from the system. His increased physical stats had also given him enough strength and speed to respond much more effectively.

But that was not what he wanted.

He needed to look strong enough that people would believe he was at the edge of Adept but not yet an Advanced swordsman.

He needed to appear as someone who had trained hard but had not yet crossed that final threshold.

So he deliberately kept his attacks simple.

Belthon understood.

Every time Elias left an opening, the knight exploited it without hesitation, forcing him backward while making sure his attacks looked dangerous enough to convince the crowd.

Another slash came toward Elias’s shoulder.

Elias raised Lastbane and blocked it, but Belthon immediately rotated his blade and struck toward his thigh.

Elias jumped backward, and the Aura-coated sword sliced through the space where his leg had been.

He landed awkwardly and swung toward Belthon’s chest.

Belthon caught the attack.

Their swords locked for a brief moment, and Elias pushed forward, forcing Belthon’s boots to scrape backward.

A murmur spread through the crowd.

Belthon’s eyes narrowed slightly, and he suddenly twisted his sword.

The movement disrupted Elias’s balance, and Belthon stepped forward while guiding Lastbane away from his body.

Elias tried to recover, but Belthon’s foot hooked behind his ankle.

His balance disappeared.

"Ugh!"

Elias fell backward, his back striking the stone with a heavy thud that knocked the air from his lungs.

Before he could rise, Belthon stepped forward and placed the tip of his crimson-coated sword against Elias’s neck.

The training ground fell silent.

Elias stared upward at Belthon, and although he had designed the outcome, a bitter feeling still settled in his chest.

Belthon looked down at him calmly before asking, "Do you concede, Lord Elias?"

Elias clenched his teeth for a moment.

He did not like losing.

Even though he knew this was exactly what he had intended, the defeat still stung.

If he had been allowed to use everything at his disposal, the fight would have been much closer. He could have made use of his skills and fought without restraining himself, and Belthon would not have been able to overwhelm him so easily.

But that was not the purpose of today’s duel.

Elias slowly exhaled and released his grip on Lastbane.

"I concede," he said.

The moment his words reached the crowd, the training ground erupted.

"Sir Belthon!"

"Victory!"

"Glory to Sir Belthon!"

The cheers rolled through the stone walls, and Elias pushed himself upright while Belthon lowered his sword.

Elias brushed the dust from his armor before his gaze shifted toward the raised platform.

Berlic was no longer looking at him.

Instead, the City Lord was speaking quietly to the two knights standing beside him, his expression serious as he gave them several instructions.

Elias narrowed his eyes.

’What is he planning now?’

Then, almost immediately, Berman stepped down from the raised platform and walked toward Belthon.

The knight stopped several steps away from Belthon and looked directly at his fellow knight.

"Sir Belthon," Berman called and asked, his voice carrying across the suddenly quiet training ground, "what level of swordsmanship was your opponent?"

The cheers disappeared.

One by one, the voices of the spectators fell silent until everyone was watching Belthon.

The knight glanced toward Elias, then slowly turned his attention back to Berman.

"Adept."

Berman stared coldly at Belthon.

’He is still not done, huh,’ Elias mumbled inwardly and looked at Berlic with a sharp gaze.

He could already guess what Berlic planned to do now, but Belthon now held the power to decide what Elias’s sword mastery level was, which meant the City Lord needed a proper justification to continue this any further.