Chapter 63: Challenge

As a pillar of light illuminated, Feld and Chi Chi appeared in the midst of the Hades Academy. Upon turning around, they saw Hilda standing next to another teleportation array.

"Are you heading out or just returning?" Feld inquired.

"I'm heading out," Hilda replied.

Feld noticed the light armor she wore, the slender sword at her waist, and her high ponytail tied with golden waves. He raised an eyebrow. "You're not heading back to the Norfakrasen Forest again, are you?"

"Yeah," Hilda nodded.

"It's not safe with the Bloodlands emerging. You shouldn't go," Feld advised.

"I'm going precisely because of the Bloodlands," Hilda said. "It's part of the academy's investigation mission."

After saying so, she stared straight at Feld.

Feld remained silent for a moment before saying, "I actually wanted to talk to you about sword forging... but fine, you go do your thing."

With that, Feld headed straight towards the library.

Seeing his retreating figure, Hilda hesitated for a moment before stepping out of the teleportation array and quickly catching up to Feld's pace.

Upon hearing footsteps behind him, Feld's lips curled up slightly.

"Now we can talk," Hilda said as she reached Feld's side, walking alongside him.

"Weren't you supposed to investigate the Bloodlands?" Feld teased.

"I can do that tomorrow," Hilda replied.

"But I'll be here tomorrow too," Feld said.

"Then the day after tomorrow," Hilda suggested.

"I'll still be here the day after tomorrow. This sword isn't something that can be finished in just a couple of days. You should understand that good swords take time," Feld explained.

Seeing Feld's smirk, Hilda suspected he was deceiving her, but she had no evidence.

"Are you trying to stop me from going to the Bloodlands?" Hilda asked directly.

Feld raised an eyebrow.

It turns out that Hilda still had a bit of straightforwardness in her nature. It was understandable; noble children were often taught to express their needs and thoughts directly since their families would usually fulfill and assist them.

That's why noble children tended to be more outgoing. Poor children, on the other hand, would often be denied or scolded for their requests due to their family's circumstances. Consequently, they would refrain from expressing their needs openly over time.

"Whether you go to the Bloodlands or not has nothing to do with me. I won't look down on you if you can't handle the Savage Lupine Beast," Feld chuckled.

Hilda frowned. "I can handle it."

Feld nodded nonchalantly.

Hilda felt the urge to punch Feld. On the surface, he said he wouldn't look down on her, but in reality, he didn't believe she could handle the Savage Lupine Beast. She was eager to prove herself.

Then she had an idea and smirked slightly. "Since you need to understand my fighting style, the arena is right over there!"

Feld found it amusing that he had successfully sparked Hilda's competitive spirit. But he had come here to see Viola. What should he do?

After pondering for a moment, Feld decided to deal with the current situation with Hilda first, to prevent her from running off to the Norfakrasen Forest again.

Although Hilda was strong, Feld didn't want her to take unnecessary risks. Moreover, she had a terrible sense of direction, so her trip to the forest would likely take several days.

The longer she stayed in the Norfakrasen Forest, the more dangerous it would become. If anything happened to her, where would he find another perfect woman to flirt with? Teasing Hilda was much more fun than teasing Viola.

Compared to Hilda, Viola gave him the impression of someone he needed to protect. However, with Hollan guiding her at the Hades Academy, Viola should be fine. Thinking of this, Feld nodded. "Let's go."

So the two of them headed straight for the arena.

Moments later, they stood facing each other in the arena, with more and more students gathering around.

They were all drawn here by Hilda's presence. When they heard that the Sword Maiden was going to spar with someone, some of them even skipped classes just to watch the fight. Then they noticed Feld and couldn't help but be curious. He didn't seem like a student from the Hades Academy; otherwise, they would have remembered him. So, did Hilda come to the arena to settle a conflict with an outsider, or did this big guy pursue Hilda, and she brought him to the arena to teach him a lesson? After all, that's how she dealt with her suitors in the past. Whenever someone dared to confess their feelings, she would drag them to the arena, beat them up, and then carry them away. Over time, no one dared to confess their feelings to her anymore. This was Hilda's simple and effective way of dealing with annoying people. Feld didn't know that he had been imagined by a group of students as an "ignorant and arrogant suitor." Even if he did, he would just scoff at it. Chase after Hilda? What a joke. If anyone were to pursue someone, it would be her pursuing him. After all, he was the man she couldn't easily catch.

"Where's your weapon?" Hilda took out the thin sword from her waist and asked.

Feld couldn't help but marvel.

Rich girls were indeed rich girls, even their backup swords were so high-grade. Feld's eyes were sharp; he could tell at a glance that this sword cost at least a hundred thousand gold coins. But it was far inferior to the one he was about to forge.

"Your weapon... Little Kitty, can I borrow your dagger?" Feld said.

"This is a short sword, meow," Chi Chi corrected as she handed the short sword to Feld, then jumped out of the arena.

"A short sword?" Feld looked at the short sword in his hand and shrugged.

Although it was called a short sword, it was as good as a dagger in his hands.

Hilda frowned. "Where's your warhammer?"

"I don't have a warhammer," Feld said.

Hilda asked, "What about the one from last time?"

"That's my forging hammer, not a warhammer. Besides... the dagger is enough," Feld said.

Chi Chi chimed in, "It's a short sword, meow."

Feld corrected himself, "Ah, yes, a short sword."

Hilda's face darkened. "Are you underestimating me?"

Feld looked innocent. "No, not at all."

Hilda fell silent.

In her eyes, Feld was underestimating her by using a short sword to spar with her. However, Feld really wasn't underestimating her.

The Angel's Warhammer had an anti-magic field, making it effective against both warriors and mages because they couldn't use their skills when they were close to him. So, his Angel's Warhammer and Hilda's thin sword were not on the same level.

It was like comparing equipment in a game,one was purple, and the other was gold. If he sparred with Hilda using the Angel's Warhammer, that would truly be unfair.

However, it seemed that Hilda was not pleased.

But Feld didn't explain himself. As he said, the dagger... oh, sorry, the short sword was enough.

"Are you ready?" The instructor in charge of the arena looked at the two of them and asked.

"Yes," Hilda nodded, and Feld also indicated that he was ready.

"Then prepare... begin!" the instructor announced, activating the arena's protective mechanism. Once it detected any lethal threat to either party, it would immediately release a force to push them apart. After all, that's why Hades Academy was considered a top-tier magic academy; it had complete facilities, unlike Hades Academy, which relied on the protection of mentors or instructors.

"President, teach him a lesson!" shouted one female student from the crowd, and then hundreds of students watching the match joined in, all cheering for Hilda because she was the president of the Hades Academy Student Union.

Of course, there were some cheering for Feld as well, but it was mostly booing.

The only one genuinely cheering Feld on was Chi Chi, but her voice was quickly drowned out by the crowd.

"Come on," Feld held the short sword upside down, with the tip pointing downward. This was the professional grip, but ordinary people often referred to it as a reverse grip. This grip leaned toward offense because it was better for generating power. Compared to the reverse grip, this grip had a slightly shorter attack range but caused higher damage. As the saying goes, "an inch shorter, an inch riskier." This risk applied not only to oneself but also to the opponent. The lethality and attack frequency of short weapons were incomparable to long weapons.

Seeing Feld adopt an attacking stance, Hilda also turned sideways, with one hand behind her back, presenting her side to Feld. She did this because the side had a smaller area than the front, and facing sideways could enhance the effects of lunging and retreating, with the legs being the most powerful at this angle. Clearly, Hilda's combat skills were high, and Feld couldn't find any flaws at the moment.

"How old are you?" Feld suddenly asked.

Hilda: "?"

Although puzzled, she still replied, "Eighteen."

Feld: "I'm nineteen."

Chi Chi: "?"

Not eighteen, meow?

"Come on, I'm older than you, so you go first," Feld said. One hand held the sword in front of him, while the other was slightly open, placed in front of him as a shield. From this, Hilda could see that Feld was indeed experienced in battle.

However, at this moment, Feld used the hand meant for blocking to beckon at himself.

Hilda's gaze turned cold, and she immediately took a step forward, launching an attack.

She was really a bit angry, and she was not holding back.

Hilda's speed was extremely fast, and she almost appeared in front of Feld in the blink of an eye, with the tip of her sword aimed straight at Feld's chest.

This move wasn't a killing blow; even if Feld didn't block it, it would only leave a small wound on his sturdy chest, nothing fatal.

It was obvious she was holding back.

But Feld couldn't help but smile.

She was still too young after all.

Although it was just a friendly match, it was normal to hold back, but Feld could feel something from this strike—Hilda's "momentum."

Despite its fierceness, her "momentum" lacked true killing intent.

What is killing intent?

That's what Feld was about to demonstrate next.