Chapter 212: Dugu is hard to defeat

Bang!

Clang!

The knightly lances, forged from tempered steel, bent and deformed under the force of two elite Earth Knights' charges. Each collision sparked and screeched, as if on the verge of breaking.

Even without breaking, the lances were nearly beyond repair, needing to be remelted and reforged.

Liszt's fire-attribute aura enveloped him like a war god in flames; Marcus's wind-attribute aura swirled around him like an unpredictable cloud.

Rase and Rondo watched from afar, witnessing the clash between flame and mist.

The mist was defensive, while the flame was aggressive, filling the sky with fiery clouds.

"Marcus is an elite Earth Knight, yet Baron, you're holding your own without any difficulty. Every charge suppresses Marcus. Unbelievable!" Rondo exclaimed, wide-eyed.

Rase smiled bitterly, "I knew Baron was strong. I can't even block one of his charges, but I never imagined he'd be this powerful. Even Marcus is no match for him."

"Perhaps it's just talent," Rondo sighed. "Earl established Coral Island's legacy as a powerful knight by birthright. His lineage—Sir Levis, Baron Lvera, and Lytton—all showed exceptional talent from a young age. Baron was originally considered the least talented, but it seems he was just biding his time."

"Maybe it includes hard work too. Every morning, we see Baron practicing his aura on the training grounds."

At this, they looked at each other, both silent. What could they say when someone more talented than them works even harder?

At that moment, the two charging figures initiated their sixth charge.

The flames remained fierce, but the mist gradually thinned. When the lances collided, the explosive flames broke through the thinning mist. The black and yellow horses crossed paths, and Marcus flew off his horse, landing heavily on the ground. His lance snapped into two pieces.

Roar!

The Black Dragon horse reared up, neighing loudly.

Liszt held his bent lance with one hand, his chest heaving. Six consecutive charges had exhausted even an elite Earth Knight's stamina.

Yet his spirit was exhilarated. Gasping for breath, he said, "Teacher Marcus, I won."

Marcus rose from the ground, momentarily dazed, then regained his composure, also panting, "Your strength surpasses my expectations. Though your charging experience is still lacking, it's only a matter of time before you perfect it. May victory always accompany you!"

"I had the advantage of the horse," Liszt humbly replied.

"Even without the Black Dragon horse, I wouldn't have lasted long. My aura reserves are far behind yours." He seemed to want to ask something but swallowed his words—he likely wanted to know if Liszt had become an elite Earth Knight.

Marcus didn't ask, and Liszt didn't intend to reveal it.

Dismounting, he signaled for the attendant knights to take away the broken lance and said to Marcus, "I've proven my charging skills, but I hope to engage in a sword duel with Teacher Marcus tomorrow." Charging relies more on aura, whereas sword fighting depends more on technique.

Marcus nodded, "Why not make it this evening? I'll have recovered my aura by then, and I need to set sail early tomorrow."

"Agreed!"

As they spoke, Rondo and Rase approached, congratulating Liszt.

Through this battle, Liszt understood the gap between Earth Knights and elite Earth Knights. Referencing Marcus's strength, he gained a clear understanding of their abilities: "From this battle with Teacher Marcus, I learned much. You should frequently seek his guidance in the future."

"Yes, Baron!"

"Let's go have some milk tea," Liszt said, leading the way under the apple tree. Servants quickly brought four cups of milk tea, freshly brewed with milk.

Now that the dairy cows produced abundant milk, several buckets were collected daily.

Apart from supplying banquets and Liszt's personal consumption, the surplus milk rewarded diligent children in knight training with a cup each. Still, plenty of milk remained, which the serfs on the dairy farm mixed with flour to make powdered milk.

Previously, all powdered milk was seized by Tulip Castle, but now it naturally entered Liszt's castle for storage.

Whether used during the low-milk season or sold, it provided income.

...

In the afternoon, the sun briefly appeared before retreating again, followed by heavy snowfall.

This pattern would continue throughout winter.

With the nutritional boost from milk tea, Marcus's aura recovery was faster than expected, so the sword duel was held earlier.

Liszt didn't use the Red Blood Sword; using it would likely overwhelm Marcus.

He chose a tempered steel longsword, a two-handed weapon. Marcus had similar equipment, though Liszt wore beast hide armor, while Marcus wore ordinary leather armor.

A lord and his followers couldn't enjoy the same treatment.

No unnecessary words were exchanged.

Nor did they invite Rondo and Rase to watch.

In the depths of the training grounds, amidst the falling snow, they faced each other with swords drawn. Liszt, aspiring to become a Flame Sword Saint, no longer felt intimidated in these training duels. His aura flowed freely, each strike delivered with full force.

"Dragon Flight!"

With a thrust, his tempered steel sword released a burst of flame, resembling a flying dragon.

"Wind Vortex!" Marcus spun his sword, his aura swirling around it, forming a vortex that engulfed Liszt's flaming aura.

Clang!

Without the fire-attribute aura, Liszt's sword was struck by Marcus's, releasing the wind-attribute aura, almost dislodging Liszt's sword.

He gripped it tightly, barely maintaining control.

"Whew!"

"That was close!"

Liszt’s palms were sweaty; the sword battle felt entirely different from a charge. Marcus in front of him seemed like a hedgehog, with impenetrable defenses, leaving no openings. Every chance he got, he would counterattack, making Liszt extremely uncomfortable.

The two of them exchanged blows more than twenty times.

Neither could gain the upper hand.

Marcus, with his seasoned experience, focused on defense and supplemented with sneak attacks, always striking when Liszt’s new and old Aura were transitioning, causing him immense discomfort.

However, Liszt had a substantial reserve; his total Aura was plentiful, and he recovered quickly, barely managing to hold his ground.

One was fierce, the other experienced.

Their exchanges approached thirty times, and then both their Aura couldn’t keep up with the consumption. After another ten clashes, they ultimately ended in a draw.

Both leaned on their steel longswords, panting heavily in the heavy snow.

"Teacher Marcus, did you go easy on me?" Liszt suddenly asked. With his virtually non-existent sword combat experience, being able to match Marcus was somewhat exaggerated.

Before the sword fight, he was arrogant, believing he could defeat Marcus within ten minutes.

At the beginning of the exchange, Marcus’s sneak attacks left him startled, fearing that one misstep would lead to his own demise.

As the fight dragged on, he realized he couldn’t overpower Marcus, but Marcus’s counterattacks also lost their edge, seemingly lacking the strength to turn the tables. The stalemate continued.

He felt that in the later stages, Marcus held back.

But Marcus shook his head, his breaths coming in gasps: "In the first ten exchanges, Sir... your attacks were too fierce, leaving no room for error. I did have... an opportunity to turn the tide against you. But your rate of improvement was astonishing. By the end, I couldn’t find any chance for a sneak attack."

"Is that so?" Liszt felt his back no longer ached, his legs no longer hurt, and even his breathing became calm. Indeed, he was a genius with remarkable insight!