"Tom, you're alive, how could I have any problem?"
Lucian laughed in a sneering way.
The person who came was Tom Martin, a classmate of Lucian's at the Royal Knight Training Camp, and the eternal number two in the camp.
As for the number one in the training camp, it was obviously Lucian. Although his 4-stage qualification had locked his future in the 4-stage, the qualification only set the upper limit. A person's lower limit was decided by their own effort.
Lucian had lived two lives. The education he got in modern times, and the huge amount of information he had absorbed in daily life, made him stand out among his classmates. He became the most noticeable person in the training camp, which made the eternal number two, Tom, jealous. They never got along well.
This jealousy eventually turned into hatred. When Tom found out that Lucian's The Knight's Soul was broken, he was the first to kick him while he was down. If he had been there at the time, he would have mocked him loudly.
It was said that after learning about Lucian's broken The Knight's Soul, Tom even held a banquet, invited some important guests, just to celebrate this happy event.
When two enemies met, it was natural for them to get angry.
Tom didn't say anything nice: "This is a knight's tool? Tsk tsk, still dreaming of being a knight?"
"Lowborn is lowborn. Even if your The Knight's Soul wasn't broken, you'd still be fit to be stepped on by us. Especially now."
"No, these things of yours." Tom squinted his eyes and said with a sarcastic look: "They look like they're for babies. How about it? Did some farmer's wife fall for you, a lowborn, and gave you a lowborn child?"
Tom kept calling him "lowborn." Saying such things openly in the street drew many people's attention.
But when people looked over, they instinctively turned away, as if they were afraid of being noticed by Tom.
They weren't afraid of Tom. They were afraid of the huge lion emblem on his bright silver armor.
Martin family, one of the four major families in the empire. Most of the excellent knights came from there. In this remote place of Ironforge, the name of the Martin family was heavy enough to weigh a thousand catties on anyone's head.
In this situation, even if they weren't the ones being insulted, or even if someone pointed at their face and insulted them, they could only smile and say that Tom was right.
But Lucian wouldn't let Tom get away with it.
"In the training camp, you're always like this. You're good for nothing except that mouth of yours."
"Tom Martin? Just a branch of the family. I don't know where you got the guts to bark at me like a dog. Did the training camp beat you up not enough back then?"
"Fuck!"
Tom's face turned red instantly.
Lies don't hurt, but the truth is a sharp knife. Everything Lucian said was real. Tom wasn't well-liked in the Martin family, which is why he was sent to the knight training camp.
Also, in all the training exercises in the camp, Tom had never beaten Lucian once. That means he lost every single time.
Being humiliated by Lucian in front of everyone, Tom couldn't take it. He roared: "Lucian, you insulted me like this. Are you brave enough to fight me in a knight duel?"
His shout made everyone fall silent.
That word wasn't something you could just say casually.
A knight duel between two knights was free from any outside influence. Even if a Martin family's son was killed by a beggar, the Martin family couldn't seek revenge.
This was a war of honor between knights. It couldn't be tainted by anything.
A duel could be refused, but if the news got out, the rumors from others would be enough to destroy the person who refused.
Once a duel was started, it was almost a fight to the death.
"Are you sure?"
Lucian sneered and his eyes turned cold.
A knight duel wasn't a game. If he didn't have the power of Gift of the Breeder to fix his The Knight's Soul, he would die in this fight. He didn't believe Tom would be kind enough to let him live.
Tom sneered: "Of course. Are you scared?"
"Low-class tactics," Lucian shrugged and said to Tom: "Since you want to die so much, I'll send you off."
As soon as he finished speaking, both of them released their power. The people around them felt the pressure and instinctively stepped back, giving the two space for their duel.
"Hey, is that Lucian crazy? He's supposed to have a shattered The Knight's Soul, how can he dare to fight Tom? Tom is a 3-stage knight!"
"Face-saving nonsense, he's just used to being respected. He can't take this humiliation, even if it costs his life, he won't let others mock him. I've seen this kind of people before, so stupid!"
"Alas, I feel a little pity. He's giving up his life just for a bit of pride, is it really worth it?"
The crowd muttered among themselves, but it was clear to everyone that Lucian had no chance of winning.
One was a complete 3-stage knight from the Martin family, the other was a nameless knight whose The Knight's Soul was shattered. The outcome was obvious.
Tom, too, enjoyed the respect and fear in the eyes of the onlookers. He sneered at Lucian and said, "We were classmates once. If you die here, I'd feel a little sad."
"Here's a deal. Kneel and bow three times to me, call me 'Tom Grandpa,' and crawl under my pants, and I'll spare your life. How does that sound? A good deal, right?"
Lucian smirked: "That's your last words? Real original."
With that, he pulled out a walking stick from the items he had purchased, held it in his hand, and stared calmly at Tom.
"Is this your weapon?" Tom laughed angrily: "Looks like the breaking of The Knight's Soul made your brain as stupid as your body."
"This weapon is enough to kill you."
As soon as he finished speaking, Tom raised his silver sword and ran toward Lucian.
"Too slow."
Lucian shook his head, watching Tom's path as he came at him.
After The Knight's Soul was fixed, his strength was already better than Tom's. Plus, the three years of training experience made his eyes more experienced. From Lucian's point of view, Tom's moves were full of weaknesses.
"Boring."
Lucian raised his staff, and poured his Knight's Energy into it. After the energy filled the staff, it turned into a sharp blade. As Lucian swung it, it cut toward Tom's neck.
"Silver Rank Rapid Slash!"
The name was simple, but it was a real Silver Rank skill. The staff cut through the air, and Tom didn't even have time to dodge. The blade made of Knight's Energy sliced through his chest.
"Bang."
The sharp object cut through flesh. Tom's nice armor was as weak as paper, and Lucian easily cut through it. The wound was deep, and hot blood kept spilling out, splashing on the ground.
"How is this possible?"
Tom's voice was shaking, but soon, the coldness in his body made him realize he was about to die. "Please, Mr. Lucian, I'm sorry. I'm really sorry."
"Anything you want, just let me go. Do you need money? I have a lot. I have knight resources."
Lucian calmly watched Tom, who kept talking and begging for his life. He laughed coldly and said: "You don't know you're wrong. You just know you're about to die."
As soon as he finished speaking, the sharp staff pierced Tom's heart, ending his life.
After that, Lucian shook the blood off his staff and left without looking back.
When Lucian was gone, everyone around finally dared to breathe again. They looked at each other, not knowing what had just happened.
Tom, a knight from the Martin family, was killed in one hit by an unknown country knight?
No, not one hit. The knight named Lucian didn't even use a sword.
"Who the hell is this Lucian?"