53 Mage Knight

"You idiot. Of course, they're shocked. Knights shouldn't be able to use magic," Ty'Bral said with a grin.

'What do you mean?' Goleil thought, almost blurting the question aloud.

"A Mage Knight is the stuff of legend. Usually, it isn't worth a warrior's time to learn magic from scratch, and it isn't worth it for a mage to learn how to fight at a level like yours. There is a reason the Sun Guard trained you from so young."

Goleil nodded as he watched the Swordmaster dissipating. He picked up his glaive from where he had thrown it. 'Then I imagine they all think I'm some kind of legendary warrior.'

"They already thought that, but now they think that the rumors of you being a King might not be far off."

'Such rumors exist?'

"I mean, technically, you are. You're unlikely to have to deal with any other Mage Knights while battling manaforgers. Unless the people of ancient times were much better at magic, that is."

'I had a feeling these people were all ancient. I wonder if they existed,' Goleil thought as he waited for the next match to begin.

"Well, you should be glad. You cannot defeat a Mage Knight who uses that same trick because your mana sense is abysmal. And it would never happen in a battle against an actual mage since they have no use for martial skills. It's a good one-time trump card."

Goleil nodded and felt a strong vibration as a ripple began to form in the air.

Ty'Bral continued as if nothing was happening. "I think you should lean fully into your abilities as a Mage Knight. It will help you with control and increase your poor reputation with the nobles. A powerful knight they can enjoy watching, a King they cannot ignore."

Goleil nodded again as a portal formed, and an armored hand ripped it open.

The sun knight sighed. 'Why must manaforgers be so much stronger than the mana circulators? It's almost unfair.'

Ty'Bral shrugged. "The martial ranks are exponential the farther one goes up. Lower Manaforgers were easy, but Mid-Level is the real challenge."

As the next opponent emerged, Goleil felt a chill down his back.

'At least there is only one...' He thought as a bead of cold sweat ran down his back.

The warrior in front of him was imposing. He stood a head taller than the already tall Goleil, and his entire body was covered in ancient plate armor. He moved with a subtle and dangerous slowness, but Goleil could tell it was an act.

Goleil couldn't see the giant's eyes, but his strange weapon was more than enough to let the sun knight know that this next opponent was a savage.

Like Goleil, the warrior held a polearm, but it was significantly different and unlike anything he had seen. Fixed atop the haft was an ax on one side, a mace on the other, and a spike like a true spear on the top.

"That is a poleaxe, Goleil! It's an ancient weapon of war that hasn't seen combat in a very long time!" He heard someone say.

Guyan and Khalid looked over at the newcomer and recognized the grizzled and panting blacksmith, Erikson. 'Leave it to the weaponsmith to know his ancient weapons,' Guyan thought.

'Neither of us has the reach advantage, and his weapon looks savage enough to cleave me in half with a single strike. I can't block his strikes, and his armor looks too thick to pierce!' Goleil thought as he circled his opponent.

The warrior moved with an uncharacteristic alacrity, bearing on Goleil with his poleaxe. Goleil quickly avoided, countering with a thrust at the joints, but such a feat is easier said than done.

Goleil's glaive slammed into the giant man's breastplate, barely scratching it even with his power.

'I knew it. He gave up on his considerable speed to better protect his body. My glaive can't even pierce his mail!'

"Perhaps it has been enchanted like your cloak. It's not an impossibility," Ty'Bral said as he picked at his tentanails.

Guyan furrowed his brow. "How can Manaforgers be so powerful? Just last round, they seemed weak, and yet this single combatant can put Goleil in so much trouble. How is it possible?"

Goleil's aura exploded from his body. It looked so thick and chaotic that it seemed like a tempest, boosting his speed even further as he avoided each attack and countered with a ghost-like speed. The sound of his glaive slamming into the man's armor was all the Colosseo could hear.

Sir Khalid shook his head and sighed. "The martial ranking is what it's called. Each rank above the last is exponentially more powerful. Even the gap between each Mid-Level Manaforger can't be disregarded, much less the gap between mere Lower Manaforgers and the Swordmaster."

"But how?"

"I don't know. Such information is kept very secret by all the Kingdoms, and it is certainly not information someone like me wouldst be privy to."

Goleil had hit the same spot on the giant's torso over twenty times, and all he had achieved was a dent.

The poleaxe was even scarier than the warrior's armor. Each strike was akin to the looming Sword of Damocles. Goleil couldn't block it, or the haft of his glaive would snap, and he would die immediately after. He couldn't swing his glaive, or the haft would break on impact.

'Guess I'm going to have to use some mana...' He thought.

He directed a tiny amount of energy, not even a tenth of what he had used to Command, and channeled it into his weapon. It was as if his weapon was caught alight, and it blazed with a glorious blood-red flame.

With each thrust, he molded the chaotic energy and sharpened it. The pure energy steadily reinforced the haft, the glaive blade coated by a razor-thin layer of mana.

He chuckled as he thought of the mana blades he had used to destroy Dr. Favar's spell. If only the Krodian knew how he had used the inspiration his spell had given him, he might blow a fuse.

The giant brought his poleaxe down in a screaming arc, and Goleil held his glaive above his head with both hands to block it.

"NO!" Erikson screamed, his eyes wide.

The poleaxe slammed into the blazing haft of the glaive, and splinters flew.

The massive head of the poleaxe flew across the ring, and a second later, a blood-red arc separated the giant's head from his body.

Goleil chuckled as he looked over to the armorer. "Have a bit of faith in me, Erikson!"