When knights usually engage in pure martial arts, they often remove all magic tools they are wearing, or they fight within a half-magic field.
“Duke Marcus’s knight, Alberto,” he said.
“Lord Valenccius’s knight, Tenitia,” she responded.
The lack or presence of magic tools transcends the skill gap of the combatants.
The modified magic tools don’t just inscribe basic enchantments like “sturdiness” on armor or “sharpness” on swords.
They carve various spells into swords that unleash flames, lightning, and gusts of wind, and infuse bizarre magic spells such as “reflection” or “shock absorption and release” into armor, while wearing rings on each finger engraved with different spells.
“How should we handle the magic tools?”
“It seems you’ll regret not having them, so go ahead and use them. I, Tenitia, will allow it specially.”
Of course, many knights chose not to use offensive magic tools, for reasons such as depending too much on them or the magic circuit inscribed on the tools interfering with the mana management within their bodies.
Tenitia was one of them.
“Don’t regret it, Lady Tenitia.”
Alberto was not.
Thud, clash.
At the end of July, when the sun was scorching, Alberto threw off his cloak.
Tenitia inhaled lightly at the sight of the massive figure.
A heavy bronze special heavy armor shimmered with subtle magical energy.
Gears and chains were visible beneath the joints of the gauntlets.
It was a product of magic engineering.
Valenccius cast a worried glance at Tenitia.
Tenitia shook her head and raised her face mask to show her face to Alberto.
After confirming neither was frightened, the two knights closed their masks.
“It would be wise to call for a priest!”
“I don’t know how to take off that armor, so don’t blame me if your heart stops!”
They clashed like two wild oxen.
Crash!
The sound echoed as if a siege engine had collided with the city wall.
In that moment, Valenccius smiled, and Marcus clicked his tongue.
Tenitia rushed in like the wind and seized the first moment.
As she swung her sword down, a sticky red mana blade enveloped it.
Burning ice, Hwanhan, fell away, leaving a red trace behind.
Alberto raised his sword with one hand to block it.
“No way!”
Tenitia was a knight who could outmatch dozens of men in arm wrestling even without her armor, and her platinum armor was also inscribed with numerous support spells like strength enhancement.
With her two-handed swing, there was no way a fellow sword expert could block it with one hand.
Clatter-clatter!
The black-gray mana blade collided with the red mana blade, and the ground beneath Alberto buckled.
Screech!
The iron plate and gears screamed, and the entire structure shuddered as his broad back trembled.
Tenitia pressed down as if to bury Alberto in the ground.
As his body slowly leaned and it became evident to any observer that he was being pushed back…
“I see, Lady Tenitia. This… is nothing.”
“You don’t sound quite as relaxed as your words suggest. It’s a contradiction!”
“From now on, I will make it consistent.”
Hiss!
Steam erupted from between the plates of armor, and magical light surged fiercely.
Within the armor plates, gears spun violently, and the steel wire crafted to follow his muscular structure contracted, creating violent blasts of wind at his feet.
Whoosh!
Tenitia, pressed down by the sword, floated into the air.
Ground!
Alberto slammed his greatsword into the ground, charging energy into it, striking her in the abdomen.
Of course, Tenitia was not one to take such a hit.
She performed a knee strike in mid-air, slamming her elbow down while holding onto the sword blade.
Sizzle!
Loud sparks flew from her elbow and knee spikes.
Boom!
The two knights crashed back to the ground, and Tenitia raised her sword overhead, twirling it as she charged.
It was a red disc that had ground down the bodies of infiltrators countless times.
Alberto did not block head-on; instead, he infused the mana from his body into the magic circuit inscribed on his gauntlet.
Sizzle!
Blue lightning crackled in his fist, and he released it like casting a net.
Of course, Tenitia’s platinum armor was a magic tool that could deflect lightning spells, and Alberto was aware of this; however, this was merely a distraction to buy him a second.
Clatter!
The red disc sliced through the lightning, and in the meantime, Alberto slipped right into the fray.
Steam flowed from between his knee and elbow plates, and fierce winds erupted from the soles of his steel boots and back.
He held the sword with one hand, while Tenitia had both hands on hers.
While two hands are stronger and more precise, one hand provided greater reach.
Clang!
The sound of sharp impact rang out as Tenitia was knocked back like a struck ball.
Her lowered posture left her legs buried in dirt up to her knees.
“Should I keep going?”
“Of course! I’m just getting warmed up!”
Platinum knights and steel knights started murmuring amongst themselves.
“Tenitia. Even if we were to duel ten times, I would be pushed back seven times… Yet, I never expected her skills to rise to this level. I’m not sure I can win even once now.”
“Lord Alberto is the best user of that magic armor. Is it possible to withstand so much without any offensive magic tools? And considering the difference in build, it’s clear he is superior in human skill. Truly a platinum knight of the Imperial Court.”
The duel between Tenitia and Alberto had been evenly matched for the past thirty minutes.
Tenitia lightly swung her sword like a whip, rhythmically striking all over Alberto’s body, while he retaliated with precise actions, hitting her shoulder, breastplate, and helmet.
“Gah!”
Boom!
Tenitia stepped forward, gathering her strength, her form leaving a trail of afterimages as she accelerated.
Changing direction, she swung her sword with both hands, mercilessly hitting and slicing at Alberto’s side, elbow, shoulder, and helmet.
These attacks were deadly regardless of armor, yet Alberto endured silently and thrust his sword forward.
The unmistakable sound of impact echoed, and once again, Tenitia was pushed back as Valenccius squeezed his eyes shut.
“Milady, I thought you had grown strong enough… but it seems it’s still tough against fellow geniuses.”
As Alberto lunged, he grabbed Tenitia’s right leg with both hands and attempted to tackle her by pushing his shoulder into her abdomen.
Tenitia kicked off the ground with her left foot to regain her balance in one swift motion, then struck Alberto’s nape and temple with a lump of metal the size of an egg beneath her sword hilt multiple times.
Thud-thud-thud!
Though Tenitia slid down to the ground, it was Alberto who staggered, unable to withstand the impact.
In that moment, Tenitia elbowed Alberto’s jaw and broke free.
Sizzle!
He was hit directly by the lightning and fell backward.
“Oh dear,” Marcus clicked his tongue discontentedly.
Valenccius thought it was because Alberto took that great hit but chose to refrain from charging back instead, taking a moment to regulate his breath…
“Upon arriving at the capital, we engage in a power struggle and end up in a duel between knights. This must have been quite the gamble. Even if he wins, he will eventually have to face Jeilliriris, but if he loses, he will have to face the bureaucrats’ scorn.”
Valenccius was thinking about stopping the duel at this point.
His goal was to obtain loyalty from Marcus, not to humiliate him, and he was someone who knew how strong Tenitia would be in ten years.
“Milady, don’t overdo it. It’s only been a year.”
There was no need to push herself too hard in a single fight and risk her chances of reaching greatness.
It was the calm of someone who knew the promised victory of the future.
“Duke, that should be enough—”
“Haah!”
At that moment, Tenitia shouted fiercely, as if to tell him to stop with the nonsense.
They were about ten paces apart, and neither was in a perfect condition, but their enthusiasm still shone brightly.
Valenccius looked at the mana blade that had clung to Tenitia’s sword like thick clotted blood.
“I apologize, Milady. I have insulted you.”
Her beautiful platinum armor was marked with countless scratches, the red ribbon of her helmet was torn away, and even while limping, she still appeared proud and imposing.
“She has reached this level only by giving her all every single day.”
Tenitia suddenly felt her breath grow rough.
It seemed that one of her ribs had broken.
Thanks to the support of mana for her body and the plate armor functioning like an exoskeleton, the bones hadn’t penetrated.
Thus, she was still able to fight.
“Huff.”
Alberto was strong.
He was truly the kind of knight a duke would present.
With a whoosh, he accelerated forward, blowing wind from behind him.
Sizzle!
He shot out lightning and charged in behind it.
Whoosh!
Flames roared from the pipes in his elbow.
Swiftly!
Each of his movements explosively enhanced his body, and every attack was undeniably menacing.
Yet Tenitia found something a little crude about Alberto’s movements.
A knight could perfect themselves through the training of mana and the body.
‘Imperial Swordsmanship.’
Mana supported the muscle fibers and tendons within her body, enhancing her movements.
Sometimes as solid as steel, sometimes as supple as a soft-bodied creature.
The flow needed to connect naturally was somehow obstructed.
Tenitia, viewing Alberto like a mirror, pinpointed that obstructive element.
‘Found it.’
The numerous magic circuits inscribed in his armor subtly affected his swordsmanship flow.
By becoming aware, she could suppress their influence.
Just like how one might exclude adversaries who distract their lord, Tenitia completely seized control over the parts of herself influenced by others.
‘All this time, I’ve only focused on strengthening raw power with mana; I hardly thought about enhancing resilience.’
With top-tier armor, there was no need to take hits with her body.
However, there were indeed techniques that required the raw strength of the body to be deployed.
Whoosh!
Red mana spread throughout her body like a spiderweb.
At that moment, Tenitia felt as if the errant gears within her had finally aligned.
She felt capable of focusing all her strength into a single point.
“Huff.”
“Let’s settle this!”
Alberto infused his sword with electricity and lunged forward.
Clad in special heavy armor, he resembled more a golem made of steel than a human.
With graceful movements, Tenitia raised her sword.
Whooshing!
Imperial Swordsmanship, Level 6, Self-Identity Discrimination.
It was the stage where she could cut through her opponent without prejudice, striking as they were.
Bending her body slightly, she pushed Alberto’s sword upward with her shoulder.
While she could rely on the strength of the armor for a more direct block, bending low would grant more rebound to counter an attack.
Within her body, red mana swelled and then contracted, gathering power.
The red mana blade seemed to vibrate with life.
Both Alberto and Marcus widened their eyes.
Alberto sensed his impending defeat, while Marcus, with his mechanical arm, could perceive how the mana flowed within Tenitia’s body.
Szzzzzz!
The Hwanhan howled violently.
Alberto collapsed to the floor, steam erupting from the cracks in his armor.
Tenitia removed her helmet and tucked it under her arm.
Sweat poured from her entire body like rain.
She walked over and kneeled before Valenccius.
“Your Excellency. I have returned victorious.”
*
The technicians, alchemists, and magicians of the duke family moved Alberto into the sickbay aboard the airship, while Marcus squinted at Tenitia.
I shrugged my shoulders and spoke to Marcus.
“Duke, the rain has stopped, so let’s head inside. The Emperor is looking forward to dinner with you.”
Marcus nodded.
“Understood, Your Excellency. I will enter willingly. Then, would it be alright to increase the number of guards slightly? How about 500?”
With a sly smile, as if he had planned this from the start.
I stiffened, as if I had taken a hit back.
I stated that we should go in, framing it that Lady Tenitia had defeated Lord Alberto; thus, increasing the number of guards might not be difficult.
It wouldn’t work to ordered, “Come in with just 100 guards, while our knights who can take down their knights swarm the capital.”
“300. How does that sound?”
“That works. I’ll settle for 300.”
Hadrian raised his white eyebrows as if unsure if that was alright.
I nodded and smiled softly.
Marcus assembled a company of steel knights clad in golem-like armor, battle mages with magical steel tentacles on their backs, and heavily armored infantry that looked unmistakably like mage artillery.
We passed beneath the castle gate, followed by a formal inspection.
Then, the security guard and constable spoke.
“Then we will be collecting the armament tax.”
Duke Marcus’s expression hardened.
“Armament tax?”
“We charge for any bladed weapon over a palm’s width, any parts of armor aside from the breastplate, magic tools, and helmets.”
“If you don’t wish to pay the armament tax, we can keep your items in our storage.”
“However, please understand that there will be a storage fee in that case.”
I smiled while faithfully paying my share of the armament tax in silver coins.
“Duke, shouldn’t you pay yours as well?”
