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Footsteps crushed all the unbearable cawing.
Allen turned and walked towards the back.
From behind, Chermon's belated voice sounded.
His tone was peculiar, his emotions unclear.
Yet, it was distinctly unlike that of a spoiled noble who had just been thoroughly humiliated; his voice still showed no obvious emotional fluctuation.
"The Sword of Light."
Allen's footsteps paused. He turned to look at Chermon, whose face was obscured by candlelight. He was clutching his neck.
He let go; a line of blood appeared on his skin.
The blade hadn't touched his skin. Even so, the sharp wind pressure had cut a thin gash on his neck.
There was also a bloodstain on his palm. Chermon clenched his fist, letting his hand hang by his side. He no longer paid attention to the wound on his neck.
He just stared directly into Allen's eyes.
The latter tilted his head, looking at Chermon.
"Yes, the Sword of Light."
Chermon whispered.
"This is the Water God Style Main Dojo. This is the Water King's commendation banquet."
Allen suddenly chuckled.
"So what?"
Chermon was about to say something more, but his lips parted and closed for a moment as he stared at Allen's eyes.
After a long pause, he nodded.
Eleven words.
Crisp and decisive.
"So what? Indeed."
"I lost."
A flicker of surprise showed in Allen's eyes. Then, in his peripheral vision, he felt a gaze, coming from Sinos, who was beside Reida.
Allen narrowed his eyes, raised his hand, and performed a knight's bow to Chermon, saying nothing more.
And only then did the surrounding nobles realize what had just happened.
Chermon lost??
The 'junior chief disciple' who also hailed from the Water God Style Main Dojo more than ten years ago;
The acknowledged genius among this generation of young people in the royal capital;
Now, he was even a member of 'Dawn,' directly subordinate to the King;
A genius whose swordsmanship skill could rank among the top ten within the scope of the royal palace and noble power.
He lost, just like that, in one move?
Moreover, that strike just now, which stirred up wind pressure and had such immense presence.
Listening to their conversation, it wasn't a sword technique from the Water God Style Main Dojo?
It was...
...Sword God Style??
This...
The nobles stared at Allen.
The latter, however, twisted and stepped forward.
In his steps, in his demeanor, towards his destination. It was as if he was merely returning to his starting position for the challenge.
However, the shifting gaze swept over Leos, who was staring at him with a horrified expression, and James's butler, who was shrinking his head and avoiding eye contact in the gaps of the crowd.
His gaze stopped.
It landed precisely on Paul's younger brother—Pilemon Notos Boreas.
The two looked at each other.
Allen eyed the other man, whose face was a livid pig-liver color as he glared fixedly at Allen, then smiled brightly.
He saw Allen slightly raise the sword in his hand, pointing its blade vaguely towards Pilemon's neck, giving a slight taunt.
His lips parted, but no sound came out.
But Pilemon, who had been focused on Allen's expression, felt his jowls twitching.
Allen's lip shape was so easy to read.
It made his anger surge.
—'Sword God Style, Intermediate?'
Pilemon opened his mouth, about to retort, but then he suddenly realized that the other party was currently on a roll. He swallowed his words, only glaring at Allen with a grim expression.
Staring...
Swish!
The cold gleam, picked up by Allen, leaped!
The tip of the sword in Allen's hand rose!
The hilt flew from his hand! Tearing through the air. It was thrown like a road-side game of touhu (pitch-pot), spinning once in the air with a swish, then falling straight towards Pilemon's front!
Pilemon's expression suddenly changed, but the next instant.
The hilt, under inertia, swung its tail! Clang!
It slid perfectly into the scabbard at Isolte's left waist, who was standing quietly nearby.
It was precisely exact.
And the thirteen-year-old girl—Isolte—didn't even blink her eyes throughout this sudden situation; she merely watched Allen with sparkling eyes.
It formed a sharp contrast with Pilemon.
The latter, being the head of the Notos family, one of the Four Great Noble families, his face twitched. He finally couldn't maintain his composure and roared out! Pulling everyone's gaze towards him!
"Allen Boreas Greyrat! This is the Water God Style commendation banquet! What kind of hero are you playing at with the Sword of Light?"
"Chermon thought you were Water God Style, and let you attack first, who knew you would launch a surprise attack with the Sword of Light!"
"You won by trickery, and you're still quite pleased with yourself! Saying those strange words about honor! Shameless! Do you really think no one here understands!?"
Pilemon's furious outburst, provoked by anger, reverberated through the air word by word, resonant and righteous, silencing the entire dojo.
Then the buzzing clamor started again.
"This Sword God Style..."
"Why would it be Sword God Style..."
"Duke Pilemon is right. This... shouldn't this be the Water God Style Dojo's commendation banquet?"
"Cunning?"
"Perhaps not cunning. In my view, Allen Boreas Greyrat is indeed exceptionally talented in swordsmanship... but the problem is that Her Majesty Reida is actually collaborating with someone from the Sword Sanctuary. This is truly..."
"Are you saying he's not a Water King at all, but merely someone Her Majesty Reida happens to need?"
"So that's how it is..."
Amidst the conversations, Sinos on the side of the ring looked at Reida beside him. In his line of sight, Reida merely watched her surroundings quietly, her face impassive.
He turned his head, about to reprimand this group of nobles.
Just then!
Thump!! Allen stomped his foot on the ground. He twisted and in a few steps, reached Sinos, under Sinos's surprised gaze. He fiercely reached out!
As Sinos instantly tensed, then forced himself to relax...
He pulled the Golden Sword from Sinos's waist!
Clang!
The sword blade erupted in brilliance! Reflecting in everyone's eyes in the dojo.
The knights beside them took a step forward, but Allen twisted suddenly, gripping the hilt of the sword.
Intense fire in his eyes swept over them, and a dense killing intent, in the Water God Style's perception, burned like scorching flames, stinging their faces!
In that instant, Chermon's decisive defeat flashed into everyone's minds.
Despite being older than Allen, the 'Dawn' knights still involuntarily took a step back in unison, bowing and gripping the hilts of their swords.
Allen, however, completely ignored them. He took one step, landing in the center of the ring.
The atmosphere abruptly froze.
Allen looked straight ahead at Pilemon, whose forehead was faintly sweating, still glaring fixedly at him.
That expression was clearly—Bluster. If you dare, kill me in front of Dawn?
Allen looked at Pilemon's face and chuckled.
His laughter stirred up an absurd emotion that echoed throughout the entire dojo.
"Heh heh!"
"Laughable!"
"Absurd!!"
He raised the Golden Sword in his hand. Golden sword patterns forged on the blade shimmered, reflecting light. In the flickering candlelight, it looked as if golden flames surged and climbed vigorously on the blade!
His voice, too, burned through the entire dojo with the blade!
"Behold! This is the Golden Sword, forged in the year the Water God Style Main Dojo was founded, under the glorious witness of the Asura Kingdom, passed down through twelve generations!!"
"Its age, three hundred and twenty-seven years. Forged on the eighty-seventh year of the Dragon Calendar!"
"When it was forged, the difficult victory of the Laplace War was barely a century past! And all living beings on the Central Continent still needed to recuperate; blood and tears, life and death, were still vivid! The price of humanity's victory was to still lick its wounds even a hundred years later!"
"The former King of Asura, to restore national power, invited the then-Water God of the Water God Style Main Dojo to Asura to discuss establishing the dojo in the royal capital, for mutual achievement!"
"On the day the dojo was founded, the King of Asura, to show sincerity! Assembled artisans from across the nation, referenced ancient texts, and using the Julianharrissian sword-forging method, cast it from the flame-rock iron of the Red Dragon Mountains' peak, brought forth after three months of hammering!"
"It has not only witnessed the glory of the Water God Style but also the three hundred years of Asura's glory!"
"From then on, Asura's prestige rose, and three hundred years of glory surged forth with the Artir River to this day."
"It should have been so!"
"Yet, today, in the dojo of the Water God Style Main Dojo, what 'prosperous state' of Asura do I see!?"
Under the astonished gazes of all the nobles, his words grew faster and faster, the fire burned brighter and brighter, and then...
He abruptly stopped!
Allen roared!
"It's bullsh*t!!"
The nobles looked astonished, anger showing on their faces. They were about to reprimand this impudent child Allen.
Sword rose, sword fell!
Bang!! A huge wind pressure erupted from Allen's center!
The cawing, which was about to start again, was extinguished by Allen's strike!
He looked at the nobles, who were covering their faces against the wind, and took heavy steps.
His footsteps were extremely heavy! Like a tiger surveying its prey!
The draft was scorching hot, burnt by his voice!
"What century-long glory?"
"What flourishing age that has never declined?"
"Utterly absurd!"
"Nobles without strategy! Ministers with little wisdom! Misjudging people! Short-sighted! Confusing right and wrong! Claiming politeness! Full of audacious nonsense!"
"Mediocre beings, only capable of cawing!"
"The Central Continent, a flock of crows perching on glowing cedars from centuries past, heavy with decay!"
"Never having seen someone shine like the morning sun, they always assume everyone else is as rusted as they are!"
"A Sword King cannot be a Water King, and a Water King cannot be a Sword King—such shallow understanding. Do you simply treat ignorance as common sense?"
"Where are your eyes looking?"
The nobles stared at Allen in astonishment. They wanted to speak, but seeing his raised sword tip, they fell silent. And the [Persuasion] specifically targeting Pilemon had already activated. The latter was so enraged his lungs felt like they would burst.
And then, Allen continued without stopping. He abruptly turned to look at the five 'Dawn' knights beside Sinos, who still held their swords in hand.
"The so-called 'Dawn' of Asura is even more cowardly! They don't even dare to draw their swords!"
The five Water Kings' faces showed anger. They all took a step forward, "You!!"
The next instant!!
Under the candlelight! A brilliant golden sword light blinded everyone's eyes!
Rip!!!!
A deafening tearing sound pierced everyone's eardrums, and the sparks exploding from the armor made the dojo even hotter!!
In the ring, the Golden Sword was already unsheathed!
Allen's smile was uninhibited. He swept his gaze over the blade, then bent a finger and tapped the sword body with a snap.
Hum!!!!!!!!!!!
"This Golden Sword! This witness to Asura's hundred years of glory! This Deprivation Realm! This very foundation of the Water God Style Dojo's presence in Asura!"
"Today, I invite all of you to witness!"
His words, ringing out clearly, fell!
Everyone's gaze was repeatedly pulled between the Golden Sword in Allen's hand and the knight armor of the five 'Dawn' Water King knights. Their eyes were filled with nothing but shock.
In their line of sight, the Water Kings, who were five meters away from Allen, these 'Dawn' members who held some prestige in the royal capital, their carefully forged knight armor on their legs no longer gleamed with silver light. Deep, ugly sword marks, almost piercing the steel, emitted wisps of green smoke.
It was so clear to everyone.
No one could speak.
In a fleeting instant, within his words, in the blink of an eye.
Light, suddenly appeared!
In just a blink.
These five blade-slashed, fire-scorched marks, amidst the clanging of metal.
Were suddenly etched onto the bodies of the five 'Dawn' knights!
Who could guarantee that next time, it wouldn't appear on their own necks?
And this was clearly a cutting attack. Who was the instigator?
It was glaringly obvious.
Pilemon, as the sole recipient of the persuasion intensifying emotional infection, was grinding his teeth so hard they might shatter!
By the side of the ring.
The five 'Dawn' knights all looked at the etchings on their knight armor in disbelief, their expressions dazed as if they were in a cloud. Under such provocation, they all fell silent in unison.
Chermon and Leos, father and son, stared at the Golden Sword in Allen's hand, utterly speechless.
All the apprentices, whose emotions had been stirred by Allen's words, looked at each other amidst their excitement and somewhat complex feelings.
Sinos's eyes, however, burned with fire.
The moment Allen's words fell, he abruptly turned to look at Reida.
Beside him, Reida merely turned her slightly cloudy gaze.
She looked at the etchings on the knight armor.
She looked at her own personal sword in Allen's hand.
And she looked at her disciple, whom she hadn't seen in two years.
She looked, and looked.
Finally, she smiled.
"Heh heh..."
She reached out and put her hand on Sinos's shoulder.
Her laughter, from faint, turned into unrestrained, hearty laughter.
"Haha, hahahaha!"
After a night of noisy cawing.
She laughed until she doubled over.
She laughed heartily, with full abandon.
At this very moment.
Because Reida was already elderly, her posture, bent over in laughter, was like that of an old woman.
But for some reason, everyone present heard an unparalleled sharpness in her unrestrained laughter.
The shorter Reida's stature.
The stronger her presence.
The shorter Reida's stature.
The more her aura manifested the presence of the Water God's name!
Sinos stared blankly at Reida, then shook his head helplessly, subtly lowering his body to allow her to lean on him.
However, the laughter abruptly ceased.
Reida straightened up. Her figure flickered, and she appeared beside Allen.
Tap, she stepped onto the ground, straightening up as she looked at the Golden Sword in Allen's hand.
She reached out and grasped the Golden Sword Allen offered her.
Her cloudy eyes were now bright as stars!
Could a master only achieve their disciples' success? And could a disciple only seek refuge under their master's wing?
Was this the case now?
Reida smiled, raising the personal sword in her hand.
This, in Asura, was in some sense a symbol of authority.
"Water God Style Main Dojo, Water King Commendation Banquet."
"The challenges have already exceeded ten matches. Allen Boreas Greyrat, complete victory!"
"Today, I, this old woman, grant him his long-delayed Water King title, declaring it well-deserved."
She scanned her surroundings.
"Any objections?"
The dojo was utterly silent.
The crows that had been cawing all night.
Staring at Reida's eyes, which shimmered in the candlelight, and the swaying, golden light of the sword in her hand.
They were silent as if dead.
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