Trump Card

Jonas was flabbergasted and felt wronged. He had accepted the fight, thinking of an easy win, but now, he would rather fight a Yaksha than fighting this little lord of his. The kid was stronger than him in every aspect. Even his strength, which he had been proud of ever since he became a sell sword, was weakening as the fight continued.

'I have no choice but to use that, huh.'

After successfully parrying a thrust, Jonas kicked his opponent and retreated a few meters back, before taking out a potion and gulping it in one go. It tasted horrible, making him want to puke, but it wasn't his first time consuming one.

His body suddenly changed. Veins became more defined on his body, as if they were going to explode. His heart rate doubled, and his muscles were excited. Though he was bleeding all over his body, the pain suddenly disappeared. His reflexes were never this high, and it was as if time had suddenly slowed. He could now follow his opponent's movement.

Drake didn't think too much of the potion Jonas took. And it was a huge error.

He had once again put into use a feint and struck at Jonas, but the latter surprisingly managed to block his strike. Furthermore, the block was pretty well-done, and Jonas didn't even budge. Drake felt like he had hit a boulder.

The counter attack was especially fierce. Drake was sent flying.

[Beep! Host has been hit by an attack that deals 6 degrees of damage! 5 points have been blocked by the heavy armour.]

[Beep! Muscle Group B11 has been injured. Suggesting to begin treatment immediately!]

This was the first time Drake was injured.

For the very first time of his life, Drake felt fear. The man he had utmost dominance upon had transformed in some insane wild beast. Judging by his facial expression and his red eyes, he was struggling not to go on a rampage.

'What kind of elixir is that? I can't fall right here! It must have been a magical potions crafted by acolytes, or something like that!'

However, desperation didn't prove to be very useful in this situation.

Like a lion toying with his prey, Jonas threw his sword away, and plummeted Drake with a rain of fists and kicks, disregarding Drake's thrusts and vertical strikes. It wasn't as if Jonas wasn't taking any damage. The more time passed, the bigger his injuries became. But Jonas couldn't feel pain anymore. His body was on the verge of breaking down, but the elixir gave him the illusion that he was invincible.

On the ground, blood was flowing, shocking the crowd to the core. Most of commoners never saw a true battle in their lifetime, not to mention a bloody and spectacular fight like this one.

*BANG*

A heavy swipe hit Drake on the neck.

An enormous fatigue overcame him. He knew what was happening to him. He was fainting.

'I CAN'T!'

Drake wanted to shout, but his throat was not responding to his commands. He tried to stand up, but his body was messed up. His left arm that blocked so many strikes was about to be broken and his back was hurting him more than ever. He couldn't admit defeat, since defeat meant death. Even if he survived this ordeal, this loss would forever remain in his mind. He couldn't allow himself to fall here!

As if his wishes were heard, a huge change happened in Drake's body. Blue light enveloped him. His muscles, bathing in this light, suddenly became vigorous again, even slightly more than when Drake was in his peak. His mind felt stronger as well, as if a fog covering his thoughts had been lifted. However, the greatest change was energy.

Internal energy wasn't something that could be described with mere words, it was something that all living beings possessed yet so few had awareness of. It was the essence of life, the motor of the body. Internal energy was the pure resource that allowed one to overcome his limits. It was something that allowed knights to defy common sense.

And the energy in Drake's body was unbelievably wild. Every single soldier and mercenary who had gone in a battlefield recognized Drake's intent. It was pure, cold-blooded killing intent condensed under the form of internal energy.

Drake opened his eyes again, feeling more powerful than ever.

Jonas, whose senses were diminished ever since he gulped the elixir, started to rush towards Drake. He no longer looked humans, as his teeth became fangs and his posture became that of a wolf. His eyes were shining in a red light.

Drake remembered the technique that his father had passed him down.

Arclight Chop. A technique that, with the Viscount's attributes, could deal 18 degrees of damage.

Drake knew what happened to him. He had broken through unsurmountable barrier of Knighthood, becoming an official knight. His hard work had paid off.

'I can feel it! I can use internal energy.'

As if it was in his blood, Drake followed his instincts. He didn't listen the biochip's warnings and analysis. He focused on following what his body was telling him to do. As if it followed a path that Drake knew from birth, the internal energy condensed in his sword and started to glow in a dim, blue colour.

Drake then chopped his enemy with Arclight Chop. It was a sword move his father bothered to replicate over and over again in front of him.

There was no sound, and it seemed like Drake's sword teleported. However, it was just an illusion caused by the sheer speed of this Knight Killing technique. Jonas' head flew in the air, and blood covered Drake's armour.

[Beep! 9 degrees of damage dealt!]

Be it the crowd, the guards or the Dark Legion trainees, everyone felt their heart tighten. They all had a lingering fear in the back of their minds. It was their instincts yelling to them to get out of this place.

In the meantime, Lewis had gathered over two hundred swordsmen in the city, some being adventurers hired for this task, others being city guards who weren't on duty. All had answered to Lewis' call for help. However, no one could have expected such an issue.

Drake then shouted:

"Grow strong in honour."

The rebels knelt. They felt despair, and utmost fear when looking at Drake, one of the youngest knights in the whole kingdom. In their eyes, Drake wasn't just a lord. He was a monster.

The people, who had been watching until now, from the windows in their houses, from the streets, from the walls all shouted in unison, proud of their lord.

"GROW STRONG IN HONOUR."

Drake then spoke in a very clear voice:

"Make sure that the rebels are sent in prison. Confiscate their belongings. They are the city's property now. Make sure that the mercenaries are shackled with the heaviest boulders and scraps of metal. The women will be sold in a slave market, as disgraces. The men will become miners and loggers. If they utter a word of protest, send them to the mines. If they show a hint of rebellious behaviour, end their pitiful life. That will be all."

Drake then returned to the castle. Lewis and his men started to shackle the rebels. There were no protests. Only sounds praising Drake's breakthrough. The Moonlight Motto was repeated the whole day.

"GROW STRONG IN HONOUR."

It was repeated over and over again by all: merchants, soldiers, even commoners who barely knew how to talk repeated this motto.

Meanwhile, Drake had returned to his room. He was completely naked, and a pair of twin maids were tending his numerous wounds. Although the injuries were nasties, his body showed incredible vitality, regenerating at a very fast rate. The maids were putting herbs on his body, further increasing the regeneration rate of his body.

[Beep! Scan complete! Process of Breaking through the Knight Realm has been successfully recorded and analysed.]

'Run a complete body scan.'

[Beep! Scan completed!]

[Name: Drake Moonlight. Age – 15 years. Rank: Official Knight

Attributes:

Strength – 3.2 | Dexterity – 2.5 | Constitution – 2.8 | Internal Energy – 9.2

Skills: Lunar Elven Sword Art (Knight level, proficiency: advanced), Moonlight Shield Mastery (knight-level, proficiency: Intermediate), Moonlight Breathing Technique (Grand-Knight level, proficiency: Advanced), horsemanship (proficiency: Advanced)

Knight Killing Technique: Arclight Chop (Sword speed: 200%, Damage: [Strength*3] degrees)]

[Beep! Strength has increased by 0.8-point, dexterity by 0.4, constitution by 0.6 point. Furthermore, internal energy has undergone a qualitative and quantitative change!]