Chapter 426: You Won

Although a Princess is still a Princess no matter how down-and-out she may be, the pressure brought upon Blanche by being subjected to others' accusations and slander every day was immense.

Those who accused and slandered her included not only the nobles outside, but her father and Jialete had both spoken such words as well.

Especially Jialete; as the Crown Prince, he had always held himself to the standards of the next King, valuing the royal family's honor and his own reputation very highly, and any blemish could provoke his displeasure.

In previous years, before Jialete left Jinyu City, whenever he heard others gossiping about Blanche from the outside, he would go to the Moon Shadow Palace after returning to the Jinyu Palace to lecture Blanche.

Although he never laid a hand on her, mental torture is no less a form of suffering.

Listening to Blanche's experiences, he felt a deep ache; rumors can truly kill.

It was fortunate that she was a girl with strong psychological resilience; if it had been someone with a weaker ability to handle pressure, even if she didn't take her own life, she would have been driven to depression or even madness.

Once a Princess went mad, it would be even more of a loss of face for Bruno and Jialete; to maintain the dignity of the royal family, they might even kill her and then claim to the outside world that she died of illness.

Of course, this was just Luoning's conjecture; Bruno likely wouldn't do such a thing.

"I finally understand why you were so afraid just now."

Luoning gripped her hand tightly, "Don't worry, after being with me, no one will bully you again."

Originally, Blanche had been in low spirits while speaking of her painful past, with tears welling up in her eyes, but after hearing this sentence from Luoning, she couldn't help but weep with joy.

"Mm, I believe you!"

She wiped away her tears, "I feel that Jialete has violent tendencies; you must be extra careful when you spar with him later. If it really gets to be too much, call a stop in time."

"Don't worry, I have a sense of proportion."

When Luoning agreed to the spar, he had thought about giving the brother-in-law some face by holding back and losing.

However, after hearing about these experiences of Blanche, he changed his mind—he would not seek victory, but he would not let the other party win easily either.

Although it was a private spar, this matter would inevitably become known to the outside world.

If Luoning were to defeat Jialete in one fell swoop, it would shatter the myth that the "Crown Prince is the best in the world" that had stood for years, and it would be a slap in the face to the royal family.

Furthermore, this private spar had no stakes; winning would not only gain him no benefits, but it might instead bring him quite a bit of trouble.

To be defeated is the best outcome.

In the vast Training Ground, there were currently some Knights training; they were the Crown Prince's personal guard, the Knight Squad.

"Geman!" Jialete called out.

All the training Knights stopped their movements, and one tall, sturdy Knight quickly ran over.

His appearance was ordinary, but there was Along, hideous scar on his face; this was left behind many years ago when he was injured by Jialete during a spar.

"Your Highness, what are your orders!" Geman said respectfully.

Jialete reached out his hand: "Lend me your longsword."

Although Geman was puzzled, because he saw Moody, the sword-bearer following the Crown Prince, holding the Prince's longsword, he did not hesitate at all and handed over the sword in his hand.

"Your sword is not bad; it must have cost quite a few gold coins, right?"

Geman nodded and said: "This was forged by the Black Jade Family. Although it is not an enchanted extraordinary weapon, its durability is very high. My subordinate spent most of his life's savings to buy it back then!"

"Mm!"

Jialete nodded and looked toward the direction he had come from, seeing Luoning and Blanche chatting intimately.

"Looks like he's a lecherous person."

He looked down on Luoning a bit more in his heart; such a person, even if they had strength, could still be controlled as long as beauties were offered.

After Luoning walked closer, Jialete threw Geman's longsword to the former and said: "No matter where a Knight goes, they must carry their sword with them. If you go empty-handed like this, you will inevitably fall into a disadvantage if you encounter an attack."

Luoning took the longsword; its weight was about the same as the Liuyan Sword, and although its quality was not as good, it shouldn't be low either.

"The Crown Prince is right; I will keep your teachings in mind from now on!"

Luoning said with a smile; he certainly wouldn't say that he had a Space Ring.

"Alright, everyone disperse!"

Jialete walked to one end of the Training Ground on his own, "Geman, you call the start in a moment."

"Understood, Your Highness!"

Geman couldn't help but lick his lips; ever since the Crown Prince advanced to Silver Moon, he had almost never sparred with anyone again. He didn't expect to have the honor of seeing it today.

Although he didn't know Luoning, he could perhaps guess a thing or two from Blanche, and he was also very curious to see what kind of strength this young man, who was rumored to have talent surpassing the Crown Prince, actually possessed.

"Heh, if he's a fraud, he's going to have a miserable time today," Geman thought to himself.

Luoning signaled for Blanche to step back further, while also asking Geman and the others to take care, so as not to be caught in the aftermath.

Regarding such a request, Geman still complied.

After all, she was a Princess, and now that she was about to be married off, it wouldn't be good if she were injured.

Soon, Luoning and Jialete stood on opposite sides of the Training Ground, with a distance of about four or five hundred meters between them.

Geman picked up a stone and said loudly: "When the stone hits the ground, the duel begins!"

As he spoke, he tossed the stone high into the air.

Everyone stared at the stone.

The Knights were excited; they really wanted to see the Crown Prince beating his opponent. Although the scene would be bloody and violent, it was very impactful.

In contrast, Blanche clasped her hands together and prayed silently.

Clack!

The stone tossed high into the air landed on the ground, making a crisp sound that everyone heard.

Zzz!

Almost the second the stone hit the ground, Jialete's entire body flashed with Thunder; his physical vitality was ignited at this moment, and he seemed to transform into a bolt of purple lightning, crossing the battlefield to kill Luoning.

In Jialete's dictionary, there was never defense; his fighting style was offense, active offense.

"A Battle Technique that uses the Thunder attribute to enhance speed?"

Luoning was not afraid in the slightest; he took a step forward, wild winds surged around him, and his speed was not inferior to the other party at all.

In almost a second, the two crossed a distance of four or five hundred meters and met in the center of the Training Ground.

"Heh, not bad speed!"

Jialete laughed and slashed his sword toward Luoning; the Thunder on the blade seemed ready to swallow everything around it.

A sharp glint flashed in Luoning's eyes; he did not choose to take the blow head-on, but instead twisted his body, skillfully dodging Jialete's sword of Thunder.

Boom—the Thunder struck the ground, and the earth instantly cracked with deep scars.

Luoning brandished the longsword in his hand, and a fierce sword light streaked through the air like a Meteor, aiming straight for his opponent's throat.

Jialete's expression changed slightly; he had not expected that Luoning's speed would not lose to his own, and that his footwork and swordsmanship would be so exquisite.

He hurriedly adjusted his posture, sword tip pointing upward, and collided with Luoning's longsword.

"Clang!"

The sound of metal colliding echoed across the Training Ground; neither of their sword momentum weakened, but instead became even more ferocious. They traded blows, sword light flickering; every clash seemed as if it would Tear the air apart.

The watching Knights were stunned; they had all thought Luoning would be defeated quickly, but they had not expected the other party to actually take the moves and even fight back and forth.

Geman widened his eyes even further; it had been Along time since he had seen anyone able to contend with His Highness Jialete in swordsmanship.

Blanche gripped her hands tightly, watching the two in the arena nervously. Regardless of whether Luoning won or lost, she only prayed he would not get hurt.

"Very good, you have successfully stirred up my fighting spirit!"

The long-lasting close-quarters combat had no effect, so Jialete used the momentum to retreat, his sword tip pointing directly at Luoning, with deep purple lightning gathering upon it.

"Thunder Flash!"

Luoning changed his moves simultaneously, compressing his Flame Battle Qi to the limit on his longsword before blasting it out.

"Fire Flash!"

Two Level 6 Battle Techniques collided in mid-air, and the earth shook instantly; the massive momentum was like a heavy hammer striking everyone's heart.

"Careful!"

Geman's Battle Qi billowed all over his body as he stood in front of Blanche, blocking the incoming gale.

Sizzle~

The power of the Thunder swallowed the Fire Flash completely, then carried its remaining force to strike at Luoning.

"Without the amplification of the Liuyan Sword, the power of Fire Flash is a bit smaller."

He casually swung a flame slash to dissipate the incoming residual force.

Whoosh!

Taking advantage of this upper hand, Jialete charged back in.

Luoning had wanted to resist forcefully, but when he took the blow, he held back two parts of his strength.

Under this clash, the massive recoil force sent Luoning retreating rapidly, making it look like he had fallen into a disadvantage.

"Haha!"

Jialete erupted with a victor's smile; he hurriedly followed up during the moment Luoning was suppressed, his massive longsword thrusting and sweeping, wanting to defeat Luoning completely.

But although the latter had fallen into a disadvantage, he could barely parry every move, which left Jialete, who was in the dominant position, with no possibility of ending the fight.

The more this went on, the stronger the anger and hostility in Jialete's heart grew.

"Thunderstorm!"

In an instant, with him as the center, the surrounding ten-meter radius fell into a field of Thunder.

The purple electric arcs were extremely violent, whipping against the ground; the ground was blasted into huge pits, and the edges showed signs of being scorched.

Luoning's expression was solemn; he flicked his longsword, and a massive fire snake flew out, circling his body to resist the encroachment of the Thunder.

Crackle, crackle—the roar of the Thunder and the explosion of the flames brought an unprecedented visual feast; no one had expected the battle to actually continue to this extent.

Bang!

The powerful Thunder finally blasted open the fire snake, carrying its remaining force to strike at Luoning's Battle Qi Armor.

Just as the Battle Qi Armor was hit and dissipated, Luoning had already flashed out of the range of the Thunderstorm.

He patted a sleeve that had been pierced through and said with a smile, "Your Highness has such strong attacks; you have won this battle."

Jialete, who had wanted to continue rushing forward, stopped his momentum abruptly; he suddenly felt very uncomfortable all over.

This discomfort was like being in the middle of a satisfying pee when suddenly being startled by someone, forcing one to stop abruptly.

"You are afraid just because a piece of your sleeve was pierced?"

Luoning nodded firmly: "A piece of sleeve being pierced is enough to prove the point."

Jialete looked at Luoning deeply, his eyes showing some displeasure, but he still nodded, then turned and left.

Had he won?

He had indeed gained the upper hand, but to say he won was still too early.

Moreover, he could feel that Luoning had not exerted his full strength; at the very least, his secret arts had not been displayed.

Although he also mastered secret arts, if he used them, he would see Luoning's true level more comprehensively.

But now that the other party had voluntarily conceded, if he continued to fight, it would get out that he was bullying a brother-in-law who had already surrendered, which would have a bad impact on his image.

After all, Luoning was not a subordinate Knight sparring with him.

"This battle was not without gains."

Jialete looked back at Luoning, who was returning the longsword to Geman, "This guy is definitely not some peak Meteor Knight, but a real Silver Moon level!" (End of chapter)