The Birth of a Great Knight

After his experiments, Duke was quite satisfied with this Voidcleaving trait. It gave him another means of attack.

The Voidcleaving sword qi not only possessed formidable cutting power, but also explosive bursts of energy. It was an exceptionally powerful offensive technique.

More importantly, it filled the gap in Duke's medium- and long-range attacks. Previously, he could only attack from afar with a bow.

But bows were easy for Knight Level experts to defend against, making it difficult to achieve any worthwhile results.

Generally speaking, wearing a full suit of armor was enough to render ordinary arrows harmless.

But this Voidcleaving sword qi was different. Ordinary armor could not defend against it, and anyone struck by it would certainly suffer severe injuries.

Duke then conducted another round of tests and determined that the sword qi had an effective range of thirty meters.

Once it exceeded that distance, the sword qi would automatically explode and could not travel any farther.

As for Battle Qi consumption, when his Battle Qi reserves were full, a single sword qi strike consumed roughly one-eighth of it.

In his normal state, Duke only had enough Battle Qi in his body to unleash eight sword qi strikes.

He was already an Official Knight, and his Battle Qi reserves were considerable, yet he still could not use Battle Qi too many times.

If he had still been a Knight Apprentice, he probably would not have been able to swing out even one sword qi strike even at full strength.

After thinking it over, Duke began controlling the amount of Battle Qi attached to his blade each time, gradually reducing it.

He discovered that he could still unleash sword qi with less Battle Qi, though its power was greatly reduced.

After one night, Duke's Battle Qi was nearly depleted, but he had gained a sufficient understanding of how to use sword qi.

The next day, news spread, throwing all of Maple Hill County into an uproar.

Vivian had successfully advanced to Great Knight, becoming the first Great Knight in Jade Province in fifty years and the only female Great Knight in Vira Kingdom in nearly a century.

Count Hardy neither kept a low profile nor deliberately concealed the news. He proactively spread it and sent word to the distant Vira Royal Capital as well.

With the strength of a Great Knight alone, Vivian could be granted the title of viscount, though she did not yet possess any territory.

Naturally, Vivian did not care about the title of viscount, nor did Count Hardy.

Their purpose was to inform the nobles around Maple Hill County that they had a Great Knight watching over them, making them abandon any improper thoughts and intimidating petty schemers.

As far as those nobles were concerned, they also had Knight Level experts protecting them, so other nobles' Knight Level experts posed no direct threat.

But Great Knights were different. Great Knights were practically legendary figures, and Knight Level experts simply could not stop them.

If Vivian were to directly storm those nobles' lairs, she could easily take the heads of those noble lords.

That was what the nobles feared most. Ordinary wars, disputes, and friction were of little consequence to them, since they themselves would not face much danger.

But the existence of a Great Knight could directly threaten their lives, and it would likewise directly change their views and strategies toward Maple Hill County.

As for whether the news was true, those nobles did not need to investigate it themselves.

The church officials of Vira Kingdom would be responsible for verifying it, and their conclusions would certainly not be false.

Vivian's investiture as a viscount required many procedures, and many of those steps would test her strength.

Habs Manor, training grounds.

Duke wore armor and wielded the Black Sword as he fiercely traded blows with Vivian, who held the Star Axe. The metallic clang of colliding weapons rang out continuously.

After successfully advancing, Vivian had come to find Duke once she finished handling a series of matters.

Her first words had been, "Let's fight!"

Naturally, Duke had no reason to refuse. He readily agreed, since he also wanted to see the strength of a Great Knight.

He found that Vivian's strength and speed had both improved greatly. He estimated that her speed was around twelve, while her strength was close to thirteen.

Judging from her physical attributes, she had not surpassed the current Duke by much, but it was still enough to astonish him.

Duke had relied on the Skill Tree to raise his physical attributes to such heights, while Vivian had cultivated herself to this level through her own efforts. It was truly no easy feat.

"Try that sword qi you mentioned!" Vivian's fighting spirit blazed, and her presence surged.

"It might be a little dangerous." Duke thought for a moment before speaking. The sword qi was too destructive, and once released, he had no way to control it. It could easily cause accidental injury.

"It's fine. Come at me!" Vivian said with a smile.

Duke said, "Then be careful."

He swung his sword, and the Battle Qi attached to the blade immediately transformed into a red crescent that flew outward.

Duke deliberately controlled the amount of Battle Qi, using far less than usual to avoid injuring Vivian.

Vivian's gaze sharpened. She immediately stretched out her hand, gathering a large amount of white Battle Qi in her palm.

Under her control, the Battle Qi quickly condensed into a white shield before her.

Just as the shield took shape, the sword qi arrived. It exploded the instant it struck the shield, kicking up a cloud of dust.

When the dust dispersed, the shield before Vivian had vanished. Sparks still scattered around her, but she herself was completely unharmed.

"Your sword qi is incredible!" Vivian praised.

She truly admired Duke's talent. He had actually figured out such a move on his own, and it had already surpassed the original content of the Burning Wave Sword Art.

"Is your Battle Qi Shield an ability you gained after becoming a Great Knight?" Duke asked.

Vivian nodded. "That's right. After becoming a Great Knight, you can release Battle Qi externally, and there are many ways to use it. I'm still exploring them. That Battle Qi Shield just now was only one method."

Duke pondered it. In a sense, his sword qi was also a form of externally released Battle Qi, but he needed a longsword as a medium.

A Great Knight could directly draw the Battle Qi within their body outside, attach it to their surface, or condense it in the air around them.

"I discovered that after attaching Battle Qi across my entire body, it can achieve an effect similar to your Enchanted Items, though it probably isn't as effective as magic," Vivian said.

As she spoke, she controlled the Battle Qi within her body to cover her entire body. A faint white glow spread over her, as though mist were wafting from her.

This kind of Battle Qi also had some defensive effect against energy-based attacks, though it was not as effective as magical power.

Duke realized that Great Knights possessed a certain degree of resistance to magic.

If that Two-Headed Ogre had encountered Great Knight Vivian back then, it would most likely have been beaten black and blue.

Vivian would only need to cover her body with Battle Qi and form a protective barrier. After taking the first Lightning Ball head-on, she could close in and finish off the Two-Headed Ogre.

But against an opponent with stronger spellcasting abilities, this method might not necessarily work.

Great Knights relied on the enormous amount of Battle Qi within their bodies, piling it outside themselves to gain a certain degree of defense against magic.

However, more spells would not necessarily take the direct form of an Ogre's Lightning Ball. They were often far harder to guard against.

Take Count Hardy's Red Glove, for example. You would not even know when he had made his move.