As the training grounds became completely surrounded, Rio began trembling.
It wasn't just Rio. The armed guards who followed along also looked uneasy and hesitant.
Only Ghislain remained calm as he surveyed the surroundings.
The soldiers surrounding them stood still, simply waiting. A heavy silence lingered in the air.
After a moment, Baron Margell appeared, leading about ten knights.
Baron Margell sneered as he looked at Rio.
"So many of you came. Are you planning to fight right now?"
"N-no. We're just here with an escort."
"Why? Are you afraid I'll order my soldiers to attack you?"
"...."
Rio couldn't say anything. No matter how he thought about it, it certainly seemed that way.
The observers who had come along with Baron Margell probably already guessed what was about to happen. The baron had likely already won them over.
Baron Margell sat down and raised his hand.
"Either way, the duel must proceed. Whatever the outcome."
At his words, one of the knights stepped forward.
There was no way that knight could be stronger than Bendok, the strongest knight in the barony. Defeating Yulian wouldn't be easy.
Still, Baron Margell intended to proceed with the duel. If, by chance, his knight won, it would make things much easier to wrap up.
"Send out that mercenary—Yulian or whatever his name is."
Yulian stepped forward nervously, but Ghislain grabbed his shoulder.
"Not this time."
"Why? Are you going out instead?"
Yulian's face lit up. He wasn't yet used to stepping into such high-pressure situations.
Ghislain shook his head and replied, "We've already taken down the strongest knight in the barony. Why bother crossing swords with someone lower? It's beneath us. Someone else will go this time."
"Who?"
Ghislain turned to Kyle.
"Kyle, you go."
"... Me?"
"Yeah. It doesn't look good for the captain to take down some rookie personally."
"Come on... I'm stronger than Yulian, you know?"
Kyle grumbled as he drew his sword and stepped forward.
"Yulian might be my rival, but I'm stronger."
"Sure."
"I could've been the captain if I wanted. I just let him have it because you told me to."
"Sure."
"I'm stronger than him."
"I know."
"Ugh, this is annoying!"
Kyle grumbled as he strode forward.
Kyle and Yulian often sparred. It wasn't clear yet who was stronger, so Kyle's claims weren't entirely unfounded.
A small sparrow, Dark, was perched on Kyle's shoulder. Ghislain chuckled when he saw it.
"You two have become inseparable after spending a few days together."
Dark seemed to get along well with Kyle and was always by his side.
In other words, Kyle was starting to pick up some bad habits, but Ghislain let it be. As long as Yulian and Deneb remained well-behaved, it didn't matter.
When Kyle stepped forward, the opposing knight frowned in displeasure.
"Are you mocking me? Why isn't your captain coming out?"
The knight had been present when Yulian fought Bendok. He had prepared himself mentally for this duel.
He was clad in full plate armor and carried a shield. He had come fully prepared to fight carefully and earn recognition for his skill.
But now, a rookie instead of the captain had stepped out. It irritated him.
Kyle pointed his sword and smiled.
"I'm stronger than him, so don't worry. Just get ready to lose."
Kyle's strength lay in his cheerful and carefree personality.
Of course, that didn't mean he wasn't nervous. But unlike Yulian, he didn't feel the same overwhelming sense of responsibility and pressure.
'If it looks bad, I'll just run.'
Ghislain would handle the rest. That was as far as Kyle's thoughts went.
"You brat...."
Clang!
The knight scowled as he lowered the visor on his helmet. He had no intention of giving Kyle any openings and planned to overwhelm him from the start.
The two charged at each other. The knight swung his sword first.
Clang!
Kyle blocked the attack and quickly moved to target the knight's side. However, the knight deflected it with his shield.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Once the fight began, the two clashed fiercely. The sound of swords and shields colliding echoed endlessly.
The knight's movements were slightly slow. It was natural, considering his heavy armor and shield. He wasn't skilled enough to overcome that drawback.
In contrast, Kyle, wearing light leather armor, moved swiftly. His sword had already struck the knight's armor several times.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The knight's armor began to dent and tear in places.
But Kyle's skills were still somewhat lacking. He couldn't infuse his strikes with enough mana to cut through the armor in one blow, so the knight remained mostly unscathed.
"Tch."
Kyle bit his lip. The knight was clearly different from bandits. A heavily armored opponent wasn't easy to deal with.
If he had time to focus, Kyle could cut through steel in one swing. But since he had to keep moving, it was hard to unleash his full strength.
On top of that, the knight could use mana too. Whenever Kyle's attacks connected, the knight poured mana into the damaged areas to minimize the damage.
Because of that, Kyle couldn't inflict serious wounds.
Clang! Clang!
The knight focused on defending with his shield, occasionally counter attacking with powerful swings.
But Kyle dodged every time and kept looking for opportunities to strike.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Despite Kyle landing more hits, the knight didn't fall. He focused entirely on defense and fought cautiously.
The battle dragged on for quite some time, and to the onlookers, it seemed evenly matched.
Baron Margell leaned forward slightly, looking excited.
"I just threw him in to be a disposable pawn, but he's holding up well."
The strongest knight in the barony, Bendok, was dead. Margell hadn't expected any of his knights to win.
But since their opponents had sent out an unexpected participant, his knight was doing surprisingly well.
He had treated this knight as a sacrifice, but now he couldn't help but have hope.
"It'd be ideal if we won this duel."
If they won, they could kill everyone here immediately without any issues. After all, that was the deal.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
As the fight dragged on, Kyle changed his strategy. He began pretending to attack and then retreating repeatedly.
Each time, the knight wasted mana to defend himself.
After several repetitions, the knight began to tire. The heavy armor and shield drained his stamina.
Meanwhile, Kyle remained agile, watching for an opening.
Even if the knight could use mana, there was no way someone from a small barony would have a massive reserve. His movements slowed further.
Seeing this, Kyle murmured quietly.
"Dark, are you ready?"
"Of course, bro."
Despite the fierce battle, Dark remained perched on Kyle's shoulder. At Kyle's signal, Dark gave a determined nod.
Clang!
Once again, the sword and shield clashed. Kyle stepped back, avoiding the knight's counterattack.
As he moved in again, the knight raised his shield, but his exhausted arms were already trembling.
Kyle charged forward at full speed and struck the knight's shield hard.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The knight staggered backward from the forceful attack. Although his stance was slightly broken, he gritted his teeth and swung his sword again.
At that moment, Kyle jumped back and shouted, "Now!"
Flap!
Dark suddenly flew off and latched onto the knight's helmet.
"Argh! What is this?!"
Blinded, the knight yelled out in panic. He shook his head violently, but Dark clung tightly and refused to let go.
The knight, unable to see, swung his sword wildly to keep Kyle at bay. However, to remove Dark, he had no choice but to drop his shield.
Thud!
The knight discarded his shield and grabbed Dark with his free hand.
Clutched tightly, Dark cried out dramatically, "Remember my sacrifice!"
Pop!
"Squawk!"
Dark exploded and vanished. Kyle didn't miss the opportunity.
The first thing the knight saw as his vision cleared was Kyle's fierce grin as he swung his sword.
Clang!
"Ugh!"
Kyle's sword struck deep into the side of the knight's helmet. Though the knight barely managed to reinforce the impact with mana, the helmet didn't shatter completely.
Still, the knight staggered from the sudden blow to his head. He tried to raise his sword, but Kyle was faster.
Clang!
The knight's vision went dark as a bright flash filled his eyes. Kyle struck the exact same spot again, and the cold edge of the blade pressed against his skull.
"N-no..."
One more hit, and the helmet would split, driving the blade straight into his head. Desperate, the knight swung his sword wildly despite losing his balance.
But such reckless attacks couldn't land. Kyle's blade struck the same spot yet again.
Crunch!
Kyle's mana infused sword finally cleaved through the helmet and bit into the knight's skull.
"Urgh..."
The knight let out a short cry before his eyes rolled back, and he collapsed.
Thud!
Looking down at the knight's corpse, Kyle swept his hair back.
"I'm stronger than Yulian."
"...."
Ghislain stared coldly at Kyle.
"Wow, this guy..."
Ghislain had expected Kyle to win. After all, Kyle's swordsmanship and mana training were leagues beyond what regular knights could hope to achieve, and his natural talent was exceptional.
Moreover, Ghislain had personally tailored Kyle's training regimen. It would've been more surprising if Kyle lost, even against a heavily armored knight.
But to think Kyle would use Dark to pull off such a trick... He definitely had sharper instincts than Yulian.
"Wow..."
"Kyle won!"
Yulian and Deneb clenched their fists and let out a timid cheer. Regardless, they were happy Kyle had emerged victorious.
However, the others simply stood frozen, beads of cold sweat forming on their foreheads.
They were glad their side had won, but it didn't feel appropriate to celebrate openly.
A heavy silence hung in the air. No one dared to speak.
Step, step, step.
Ghislain stepped forward slowly and declared loudly, "As agreed! With this victory, this territory now belongs to House Lacus! Rio Lacus will inherit the title and govern this land in place of the bedridden lord! If anyone objects, step forward now!"
At Ghislain's commanding voice, the surrounding soldiers' demeanor grew more threatening.
Rio and the merchant guild guards stood trembling in place.
Unable to endure it any longer, Rio clung to Ghislain and pleaded.
"H-how about we nullify the duel's terms and just ask them to let us go safely?"
Ghislain chuckled and replied with an unexpected comment.
"I told you before—you're not cut out to be a merchant, didn't I?"
"Y-yes..."
"But judging by your nerves, you might make a decent lord."
"W-what do you mean..."
"Knowing when to take what's offered is also a skill. Leave the rest to me."
Ghislain shook off Rio's hand and stepped forward once more. Raising his voice, he shouted again,
"I take it there are no objections! All forces, disarm and follow the orders of your new lord!"
Naturally, none of the soldiers or knights moved. They couldn't accept that a duel had decided the lordship of the land.
Baron Margell slowly spoke up.
"You've got some nerve."
He rose from his seat and pointed a finger at Ghislain.
"It's obvious you orchestrated all this, didn't you?"
"What does it matter who orchestrated it? Baron, you should start packing your belongings. And to the witnesses, I expect you to report that this duel was fair and legitimate."
Baron Margell was no longer the lord here. Ghislain held the legitimacy.
But the observing nobles looked to the baron. They were already prepared to lie on his behalf.
After all, that had been their plan from the start.
Baron Margell chuckled bitterly and said, "Yes, right now, you have legitimacy. And legitimacy is important. It can justify wars and garner support. But do you know what's even more important than that?"
"What is it?"
"Strength. Overwhelming strength can crush legitimacy. Especially when no one's watching from outside."
Baron Margell clenched his fist, and Ghislain smirked.
Seeing Ghislain's expression made the baron's face contort with rage.
"You dare laugh? There's no one here to help you. That means even if you all die here, the truth will be buried forever."
As he finished speaking, Baron Margell raised his hand.
Clink, clink, clink.
The armored soldiers began moving slowly.
Regardless of legitimacy, Baron Margell intended to kill everyone there with brute force.
Rio and the merchant guild guards huddled together, trembling. Yulian, Deneb, and Kyle readied themselves for battle.
All three of them turned to Ghislain. They believed he would have a plan.
Watching the advancing soldiers, Ghislain spoke.
"There's a priestess from the Deana Church here. Are you prepared to kill a priest too?"
"Who cares about some castaway priestess who travels with mercenaries?"
At least he seemed aware of the situation.
Ghislain smirked and slowly spun a staff in one hand before speaking in a chilling tone.
"Baron Margell."
"....."
"You just threw away your last chance."
"What?"
"You said power is more important than legitimacy? It seems you've misunderstood something..."
Ghislain lowered his stance, extending his staff forward.
Mana from his core surged outward, flowing along the channels of his mana technique.
As a 5th-circle mage, he possessed an immense amount of mana. Although it was less refined and efficient than pure magic, the sheer volume made up for it.
Combined with Ghislain's experience and skill, he had already surpassed ordinary limits.
This was more than enough to face the soldiers in front of him.
Whoosh!
Blue mana began gathering at the tip of Ghislain's staff.
A fierce grin spread across his face.
"I prefer to settle things with strength too."
Boom!
With that, Ghislain shot forward like a bolt of lightning.