Lede spoke slowly. "Generally speaking, I never allow an enemy to draw their sword before I do. But you, Calvin—you and Arthur are exceptions."
"Hmph. What an honor."
Calvin pressed down hard on the arm that was trembling slightly from instinctive fear.
Fear? No. Yielding to instinct would only make him a slave to his own body.
If he could not even overcome mere instinct, what right did he have to speak of surpassing Arthur, of stepping into the extraordinary?
He drew his sword.
[Gray Eagle Slash]
The Knight Sword gave a hum, its blade instantly wreathed in howling gale-force wind. Before it had even fallen, the razor-sharp sword wind had already made the knights standing guard nearby feel their skin sting, prompting them to retreat half a step.
Yet faster than the wind was Lede!
No one could see his movements. They did not even see a flash of sword light. Everyone merely felt their vision blur, and after a thunderous bang, Calvin was sent flying as though he had been struck by a giant bear, hurtling backward even faster than he had attacked.
He smashed through the stone wall at the edge of the courtyard and crashed heavily onto the ground, unable to stop himself from coughing violently as blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.
Meanwhile, Lede's calm, upright figure was all that remained where he stood, seeming so towering.
For a moment, the entire courtyard fell silent as a graveyard.
A famous elite knight had been sent flying before a true extraordinary being without the slightest ability to resist, unable to withstand even a single move.
That power was so overwhelming that it drove people to despair.
While everyone else was still stunned, only Arthur moved.
As though unaffected by the duel, he walked directly