Pulled to his feet by Russell, Roland remained standing on the shattered Ice Cap, staring blankly into space, utterly unable to comprehend the duel they had just fought.
He, a Great Knight hailed as a genius since childhood, had actually lost to his useless younger brother, who had only been a Great Knight for one year and a Phantom Beast Knight for less than half a year. And he had been defeated in utterly crushing fashion.
"Big Brother?" Russell waved a hand before him, wondering if he had knocked Roland silly.
Only after quite a while did Roland come back to his senses and brush aside Russell's waving hand.
Looking at the refined and gentle Russell, it was hard to reconcile him with the figure who had unleashed that thunderous strike moments ago.
"I... I'm fine." Roland forced out a smile.
"It's good that you're fine." Afraid that he had truly shattered Roland's confidence, Russell hurriedly tried to smooth things over. "Even Grandfather admits that my talent with the sword surpasses his own. You underestimated me, Big Brother. You had barely become a Phantom Beast Knight, yet you wanted to spar with me."
"Even Grandfather admits your swordsmanship surpasses his?" Roland was stunned.
"Of course. Grandfather and I once competed using swordsmanship alone, and I beat him by one move." Russell smiled faintly, clearly rather pleased with himself.
Count Merlin was the foremost expert of the Shadowflame Grand Duchy, with formidable combat power and peerless swordsmanship. Yet he had still lost to Russell, whose Sword Butterfly Amber Bug enhanced him. Clearly, Russell was the number one swordsman in the Shadowflame Grand Duchy.
A knight did not necessarily need swordsmanship to unleash powerful combat strength. Magic and Battle Aura combat techniques could both display tremendous power.
But swordsmanship was the most