A Bet

"He's at the dorms, Your Lordship."

"Go get him; someone wants to spar with him."

The moment Asher said that, there was a sudden cold air that swept through the pit; even Alec looked at the people with Asher, searching for the man that would spar against Nero.

Ever since Nero joined the army, he had grown from being the one to be thrashed about to the one thrashing.

And this was just in a period of weeks!

Alex had made sure he went with the team in charge of keeping the stronghold's surroundings safe and killed lots of beasts in the process. His exploits were famous in the stronghold, and the reason for his fame was his young age.

Currently, he was now a silver-ranked dual swordsman, and the upgrade had increased his height to 1.6 meters! Though ten, he looked like a teenager with a lean yet muscular physique.

Throughout the night he had been refining his sword skills, which was why he was asleep while others were training.

Nicolas jumped into the pit and stood like a tall spear while his hand rested on the hilt of his sheathed sword. His eyes were sharp and his breath steady.

While the soldiers were whispering to each other, Alex and Eritrea arrived behind Asher and bowed their heads before lifting it back up.

"Where have you been, Alex? You could have missed a crucial moment. I want to see your son's growth."

Asher said, causing Alex's eyes to narrow.

"Nero's going up against him?"

Eritrea pointed at Nicolas, and Asher nodded.

"Indeed."

"That man should be in his late forties or early fifties. He must have gathered enough experience as a gold-ranked knight, and no matter how much Nero trains, he can't beat that."

Alex said it with a crisp tone.

"Is that your judgment on your own son?"

"It is, Your Lordship."

Alex responded.

Claude chuckled softly.

"Nicolas is a recognized name in the Dukedom of Mormont. He was a sellsword who fought for many lords and came out alive. Such a remarkable swordsman is an asset, and I made him my subordinate. So far, no other knight has matched him in terms of battle instincts and strategic knowledge."

Eritrea and Alex frowned while Asher laughed softly.

"Unfortunately, this lad has a talent that also makes him remarkable."

"A lad?!"

Claude's eyes went wide.

Swoosh!

A figure screeched to a halt at the edge of the pit. It seemed like he would fall into the pit, but he was strangely stable.

Thud!

He fell on one knee.

"You called for me, Your Lordship."

Nero could no longer be recognized by someone who saw him weeks ago. His height and frame had increased abundantly, with perfect muscles to add, thanks to the system's love for perfection. His black curly hair, like the type his father had, had also grown to the level of his shoulder blades.

He wore leather armor with metal padding at his thighs, chest, and arms.

"That's your opponent."

Asher pointed at Nicolas.

As Nero took two swords from the weapon rack to face him, Nicolas turned to Asher.

"My Lord, you want me to face an inexperienced lad? He won't even survive 10 strikes!"

From his tone, Asher knew the knight felt insulted.

"Defeat Nero within 10 strikes, and I'll give you one Moonlit Starhorn cow."

Claude coughed vehemently while eyeing his knight. Without another word, the knight went back to his position and faced Nero, who was already swinging both swords.

"Come lad. Let's be done with this."

Shing!

Nicolas drew his sword and held it with both hands.

He cocked his head when he noticed Nero's eyes. 'What's with his eyes?'

Bam!

Nero dashed toward him, swung his right sword upward, and without wasting the next second, swung his left sword horizontally, aiming for Nicolas's abdomen.

"Is that all?"

Nicolas scorned.

He swiftly took one step backward to create space and then swung his sword upward. As it went up, it hit the left sword, deflecting it, and then hit the right one.

Grunting, he followed up by using his shoulder to hit Nero's unprotected chest, but to his shock, Nero let go of one of his swords, grabbed his shoulder pauldron, and forced him forward.

In the next moment, Nicolas saw Nero's knees heading for his face!

It all happened in the spur of the moment that it took the veteran knight by surprise.

He pushed Nero's knee out of his way but did not expect to see Nero's other leg coming from behind.

Bam!

Nicolas staggered backward and stopped. He cleaned his nose and looked at the young lad, who casually picked up his swords.

'What in the world? He's not even looking at me yet I feel his eyes are everywhere!'

Nicolas frowned.

"I see you are more than you look. Again!"

Nicolas dashed toward Nero.

When Nicolas closed the gap, he suddenly divided into two and swung from both angles!

The crowd was shocked, but Claude had a smug smile.

Taken off guard, Nero tried to deflect, but his strength couldn't match Nicolas's strength, so he received shallow cuts on his arm.

Bam!

Nicolas slammed his chest, launching him 5 meters backward. Nero first crashed on the ground but somehow landed on his feet the next moment.

He breathed out heavily.

'Two Gold-ranked knights, huh? The ripples from the left one is weaker though.'

He dashed forward.

Seeing this, Nicolas shook his head. A cerulean light billowed out of both of him, himself and his clone and he stomped the ground, causing his force to billow out with more intensity.

His force attribute was water.

"Your Lordship, this looks impossible."

Eritrea said.

"Five strikes are exhausted. Will Nero survive the next five?" She looked at Asher with flickering eyes that clearly expressed her worry.

Asher remained silent.

His hands were clasped behind him as he looked at the battle.

"7 strikes are gone." He finally said.

Nicolas frowned as Nero was still evading his attacks, and he was close to the last one.

All of a sudden, Nero dashed toward him, joined his two swords into one, and just as he was about to execute a thrust that Nicolas had prepared to deflect, Nero suddenly unleashed his battle force.

Blazing Battle Force Art!