The Grand Duke stopped in his tracks and turned to look at Sylvester in disbelief. As far as common knowledge goes, Sylvester was an Archwizard at best, so fighting two Grand Wizards at the same time was no less than asking for death.
"Can you repeat that?" the Grand Duke asked incredulously.
Sylvester repeated his challenge. "I propose a Duel Under Faith with both of you. If you win, you face no consequences, and the Sorrow Kingdom will be yours. But if I win, well...you die."
Grand Duke Victor Zee Maverick turned to Grand Wizard Einarr with a bewildered expression. "Am I hearing things? Is this mere Archwizard challenging both of us to a fight? I cannot make any sense of this."
Thud!
Sylvester began to take off his armor one by one since it was useless and a mere hindrance when it came to battles of higher levels. The armor was going to shatter away anyway.
"Do you accept the duel?" Sylvester asked again.
"Yes! I accept. I have no reason to be scared of the likes of you. The battle will be over in a minute this way, and then I shall lay a complete siege on the Highland Kingdom. I must thank you in advance, bard." The Grand Duke said mockingly.
But Sylvester was chuckling too. "Foolish is the man who believes the world is foolish. Do you truly think I would fight two Grand Wizards while being a simple Archwizard? Every single time, you pests seem to forget that I'm not just a wizard."
The Grand Duke's eyes widened in surprise. "What is your Knight rank?"
Sylvester smirked and shrugged. "Who knows."
"You're bluffing! To challenge both of us, you must be at least a level-five Diamond Knight. That would mean you're only one step away from the legendary Platinum Knight rank. It's impossible for someone as young as you," the Grand Duke exclaimed.
Sylvester shrugged. "Whatever lets you sleep at night."
The Grand Duke bared his teeth and raised his right arm as if summoning forth power from the heavens. It wasn't long before his gesture was answered, and a long staff with a blazing top flew from the back of the elephant and landed squarely in the Duke's hand.
Woosh!
"I will kill you!" The Grand Duke roared as the fire blazed out of his ears, nostrils, and mouth. "So-called blessed son of Solis, let's see how much fire you can take. Einarr, come and teach this boy a lesson!"
Zap!
Einarr appeared out of nowhere right beside the Grand Duke. The man looked as ordinary as possible, black-haired, short black beard, and six foot tall—a far cry from the Grand Duke, who was a seven-foot tall, white-haired behemoth.
Sylvester soon got rid of everything on his upper body and held the spear under his arm on the side, ready to battle.
With his other hand, he mockingly waved at them to come and fight. "Let's fight. I don't have time to waste here."
Grand Duke Victor was a rageful man with too much pride and ego. So, of course, the taunts were going to work on him just fine. But the man was also a great schemer, so Sylvester remained vigilant against all his moves.
"Taste my fury!"
The Grand Duke's eyes blazed with fury as he began to spin, faster and faster, until he transformed into a colossal tornado of flames. The wind around him picked up, creating a deafening roar that echoed throughout the battlefield.
As the tornado drew closer, Sylvester stuck to his spot and dug his feet into the dirt ground while holding his spear to the front. Five layered rune circles emerged at the top of the spear, each a meter wide and shining in a different light.
BOOM!!
The two forces collided with a thunderous boom that shook the ground beneath them, sending waves of heat and flames in all directions. As a result, all the grass and greenery that was near them got burned to ashes.
Sylvester gritted his teeth and pushed forward quite easily, determined to hold his ground against the raging inferno. He plunged his spear into the vortex, using all his strength to keep it steady and avoid being caught in the blazing winds.
Meanwhile, the Grand Duke continued to unleash his fury, the flames of his tornado growing hotter and more intense with each passing moment.
However, at that point, Sylvester smirked. "May the lord have mercy on your soul!"
Shwooo!
Even as the flames raged around him, Sylvester remained focused, his mind calculating the perfect angle for his next move. Then with a sudden burst of energy, he thrust his spear forward, the tip of the weapon glowing with a brilliant plasma light that shone like a miniature sun in the midst of the inferno.
The tip of Sylvester's spear sent a thin beam of plasma light toward the center of the vortex where the Grand Duke was. It was just another version of the legendary Wrath of Heavens technique. The only difference was that he could concentrate the beam on a much smaller area with the spear.
But the destructiveness remained unchanged, and that was where his trademark move became deadly. That was how he battled, by upgrading or creating new techniques, as techniques were all he lacked since he was pretty young as compared to people of his rank.
Sylvester knew that many folks who see him every day think he never trains to get stronger.
But the truth was, after every battle where he ends up on the verge of death, he grows leaps and bounds. Every time he heals himself from his broken state, he gets better. Like the fist of a boxer, he built his body and his muscles with repeated pain and victory.
He didn't need to train to make his body stronger but to learn new techniques. The body would automatically get stronger with more battles, like the one he faced currently.
"Agh!" the Grand Duke's guttural cry echoed forth from the blazing inferno. It appeared that Sylvester's beam of light had indeed found its mark.
However, Sylvester was not yet done. In a moment of sheer bravado, he leaped headlong into the scorching flames, seizing the Grand Duke by his flowing, white hair and plucking him out of the fiery vortex.
"Why hide your miserable face behind the fire? Let the world see how pathetic you look as you die!" Sylvester bellowed before throwing the Grand Duke onto the hard, unyielding ground.
Cough!
The Grand Duke spluttered and coughed up blood, his eyes filled with disbelief at the sight before him. "H-How... how is this possible? What kind of Knight rank do you hold? Are you already a Platinum Knight?"
Sylvester, nonchalant, shrugged and prostrated himself beside the Grand Duke. "Who knows?"
"No, y–"
Wham!
Sylvester's punch stopped the Grand Duke from finishing his words.
Bam!
After a flurry of punches, Sylvester leaped back as the Grand Duke collected himself, and his body started to blaze again. This time, his entire body was covered in flames, making him a humanoid heap of fire.
Whoosh!
The Grand Wizard soared abruptly, not too high from the ground, capturing Sylvester by the midriff and dragging him into the blaze. "Perish in my eternal flames!"
Sylvester, chortling, remained trapped in the Grand Duke's hold, both gliding together through the fire. "You overestimate yourself."
Boom!
Sylvester clasped his hands and pounded on the Grand Duke's back. Immediately, the old man plummeted onto the soil, accompanied by Sylvester, creating a small, dusty crater.
In total disbelief, the Grand Duke stared at Sylvester once more as the young Archbishop unleashed a volley of blows upon his face, swelling it to a pulp. However, it was at this moment that the Grand Duke perceived something that spread fear in his heart. "Y-You… Fire does not affect you?"
Sylvester abruptly rose to his feet and thrust his spear toward the chest of the Grand Duke. Alas, the man was quick and was able to evade the full brunt of the blow, but the spear did find its mark on the man's shoulder, leaving him in a state of shock and pain.
Sylvester pulled the spear back and aimed it at the head this time. "Foolish noble, you forgot. Fire creates light — I am light!"
The Grand Duke's heart raced with panic as he struggled to rise, but his injured shoulder and the weight of Sylvester's foot kept him pinned to the ground. Despite being a Grand Wizard, he realized that Sylvester was a Knight of equal mettle, and in close quarters, a Knight of equal rank always prevailed.
"Ugh! Einarr! What are you doing? FIGHT HIM!" the Grand Duke finally roared, ordering his subordinate, the other Grand Wizard, for aid.
But Sylvester was ready for that moment.
Stab!
Sylvester plunged his spear deep into the Grand Duke's shoulder once more, causing him to cry out in agony as he was pinned to the ground. Then, with a swift leap to his right, Sylvester faced the oncoming Grand Wizard, whose mastery of elemental magic remained a mystery to him.
'I smell no hate or anger from him.' He looked towards Einarr, standing in the distance.
"Come, let's fi—"
Before Sylvester could finish his words, a sudden gust of wind struck his face. In the blink of an eye, Einarr was upon him, sword aimed straight for his heart.
Sylvester's eyes widened in horror, for the man seemed to have mastered an element he had never before encountered.
"Y-You… You stopped time?!"
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