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Aru, I don''t deserve to seek forgiveness, but I hope that you will listen to the words of this sinful man. I don''t care if I die today, but please protect my daughter and grant her a happy life.
The giant opened his eyes after praying to the benevolent god.
"You may rise." The bishop muttered.
The giant stood up causing the chains wrapped around his limbs to make a series of nking sounds.
"Are both representatives for the sacred duel ready?" The bishop eyed the two with a calm gaze.
ric and the giant nodded.
"Please step into the battle tform! The sacred duel will begin shortly!"
With the announcement from the bishop, everyone watched as the two fighters walked onto the stage step by step.
"Will Lord ric be alright?" Aldrin muttered with a hint of nervousness in his voice.
"Of course! Haven''t you seen Lord ric''s swordsmanship?" Rigor responded with a gloomy look. He was also uncertain about how this duel would end.
"This might be a hard battle…That is no ordinary man. His mana is stable and his physique is akin to that of a beast. He should be close to the realm of Elite Knights." Warrick muttered with his eyebrows knitted closely together.
The warriors of House Silversword were starting to get worried for their lord. They didn''t expect that House Paxley would actually send a man of this caliber in the sacred duel.
Meanwhile, Hershey who was spectating together with her family was praying to Aru.
Oh, Aru! Please protect Lord ric!
At this moment, the bishop jumped onto the stage and stood in between the representatives. "The result of this sacred duel will determine the fate of Liam Paxley! Whatever happens, I hope that everyone will respect the oue…"
The bishop gave a short speech before he announced themencement of the duel.
"…Begin!"
ric stared at the giant as he unsheathed his swords.
"That is the mark of a criminal branded on your body. I won''t hesitate to kill you." ric muttered when he saw the brand on the giant''s neck.
This marking was given to the criminals on death row so he was familiar with it.
The giant didn''t say anything and just stared deeply at him.
He looks so young. He should be as old as my daughter.
Seeing that his enemy was silent, ric no longer said anything. He immediately unleashed his mana and subsequently gathered them into his arms.
As the powerful energy surged forth, he released a quick burst of sword strikes.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The giant narrowed his eyes. He didn''t expect this young Knight to summon such a powerful force.
He is faster than me. I can''t block all of his strikes.
Knowing that he couldn''t block everything, the giant used his halberd to protect his vital organs.
ng! ng!
Sword wounds appeared on his body as ric''s shes connected, but the giant didn''t even flinch. His eyes remained serene, seemingly unbothered by the pain.
ric frowned upon seeing this.
I only managed to leave some shallow cuts.
Suddenly, he saw a sh of light in front of his eyes which made him instinctively pull his head.
Bang!
What?!
ric nced at the halberd that almost crushed him.
He finally realized that the giant wasn''t just foolishly receiving his strikes, he was actually preparing for that one big attack!
If ric was just half a secondte, his body would have been crushed by that halberd.
There was a glimmer of surprise in the giant''s eyes. He didn''t expect the young Knight to evade his halberd. It never failed him before.
For the first time since he stepped into the battle tform, he finally spoke. "You are the youngest Knight I have met. I feel reluctant to take your life, but I must kill you to save my daughter."
His voice was deep and sounded like a low rumble.
Hearing this, ric raised his eyebrows.
What is he saying?
The giant didn''t give him the time toprehend his words and charged at him. His heavy steps caused the tform to shake and upon gathering enough momentum, he swung his halberd.
ric''s face fell.
My 100 points of strength is still weaker than this man.
He thought that 100 points in strength was the absolute limit that a human could reach, but it seemed like each individual had different inborn physical attributes.
This man''s strength is probably over 150 points…
It was just a rough guess based on the power he sensed behind that halberd.
ric hurriedly bent his body to avoid the fatal blow.
Whoosh!
The violent air brought by the attack almost caused him to lose bnce.
After his attack missed, the giant raised his leg and released a kick.
Whoosh!
ric didn''t expect him to be this nimble despite his size.
I can''t evade it in time!
ric immediately raised his sword and shed on the muscr leg, hoping that the giant would pull back. However, thetter seemed to be unafraid of his swords.
ric''s sword struck his leg, but it was unable to prate past his bones that had been strengthened with mana.
The muscr leg crushed into ric''s body, sending him flying across the other side of the tform.
Pa!
The sound of his bones cracking echoed, making everyone feel a chill in their hearts.
"My lord!"
"Lord ric!"
The warriors of House Silversword panicked when they saw him get thrown like a ragdoll.
Some of them pulled out their weapons and were about to step onto the tform, but a cold voice stopped them in their tracks.
"Do you n to break the sacred covenant?!"@@novelbin@@
The warriors turned their gazes at Charles.
"Don''t bring shame to House Silversword! This is a sacred duel! Whatever happens on the stage is Aru''s will!" Charlesshed out furiously.
The warriors hesitated upon hearing his words.
"Stand back!" The old Elite Knight, Henry, shouted in a trembling voice.
"Lord ric chose to fight in this sacred duel! We must respect his decision regardless of the oue!" The old man''s voice choked with emotion as he watched the tiny figure on the battle tform.
The warriors loosened their grip on their weapons and brought their hands together.
Aru, please protect Lord ric!
Seeing that they had finally calmed down, Charles turned his attention back to the duel. He had a gloomy look on the surface, but he was screaming with glee internally.
Just die here, my dear nephew! Hahaha! Don''t worry. I will take care of the household and I will also take good care of that little servant of yours. Hahaha!
Meanwhile, Hershey broke into tears.
"No!" She rushed into the battle tform, but the warriors of House Paxley stopped her.
"Mydy, please calm down! We will be punished if we break the sacred covenant!"
Hershey ignored their words and tried to break free from their grasp. "Lord ric!" She screamed.
Suddenly, a furious Vivian approached and gave her a resounding p.
Pa!
"Are you crazy?! Do you n to destroy our family?!" Vivian shouted with a sharp, angry tone.
Hershey grabbed her face while staring at the frail figure on the tform.
"Stop embarrassing us, Hershey!" Vivian muttered with an exasperated expression.
She then sent the warriors a knowing look as she uttered in amanding tone. "Keep an eye on her and make sure that she won''t do anything foolish!"
"Yes, mydy!" The warriors responded.
…
On top of the tform, ric spat a mouthful of blood.
He could feel his innards contorting with pain.
It looks like I broke a few ribs.
His face was pale and full of sweat.
If my endurance was a little lower, that attack would have ended me.
Unlike the goblin chieftain whose attack patterns were predictable, this giant was clearly more skilled.
Now, how can I win against this man?
ric observed the giant with a serious look on his face.
I have to survive first!
At that moment, the giant''s halberd struck once more.
ric gritted his teeth and made a quick slide in between the giant''s legs. He then brandished his swords.
Ksshhhhkk!!
Ksshhhhkk!!
The giant tumbled after ric left deep cuts on his legs, but he quickly stabilized himself by stabbing his halberd firmly into the stone tform.
ric took a deep breath.
The cuts aren''t deep enough to cut his tendons.
He felt resistance when he shed his swords which means that the giant was able to gather mana into his legs to protect his tendons.
I almost got him! I just need to focus on his legs. Once he loses bnce, he won''t be able to block my sword anymore.
Thinking about this, ric wiped off the blood at the corner of his lips and rushed out.
His body was screaming with pain, but he pushed himself to the limits.
Bang! Bang!
The giant swung his halberd. However, he was unable tond a direct hit.
Bang! Bang!
Upon getting closer, ric suddenly swooped down.
The giant had already anticipated this. He took a step back and raised his left arm before releasing a downward punch.
Bang!