In terms of true strength, despite having the title of the number one young master in Hot Springs Pass, Diles is still far inferior to the Golden Knight Sutton.
Diles's Dou Qi was roughly at the Five-Star Class Initial Stage. Even with the advanced Dou Qi skill [ Beast King's Sigh ], it only reached the Five-Star Class Intermediate Stage, far from Sutton's Five-Star Class Peak. Facing the Golden Knight Sutton, even with his full magical armor and the green set [ Bul-Kathos' Children ] Summon all out, Sun Fei still suffered considerable injuries. However, against Diles, Sun Fei didn't even need to Summon magical armor, and his Heavenly Frost Fist, which could stack forty-six transparent fist imprints, only stacked thirty punches. Diles couldn't withstand such power, demonstrating the significant gap between him and Sutton.
However, when Sun Fei said "it's about time you two came," he wasn't referring to their individual strength. Rather, he was referring to the fact that these two young experts, both from noble families of the empire, had arrogant faces and their annoying arrogance and indifference towards the poor were exactly the same. This was what Sun Fei couldn't stand the most.
However, Diles didn't understand the meaning behind Sun Fei's words.
In this battle, whether it was Sun Fei's Glazed Fist Imprint Heavenly Frost Fist displayed earlier, or the [ Inferno ] Sun Fei unleashed after switching to [ Sorceress Mode ], or the [Prayer] skill he used in his final switch to [ Paladin Mode ], a series of changes had completely bewildered Diles, the top young expert of Hot Springs Pass. He simply couldn't see Sun Fei's strength. Extremely arrogant, after being defeated by Sun Fei in one blow, his evaluation of Sun Fei immediately rose sharply. So when Sun Fei said that he was 'about the same' as the Golden Knight Sutton, he was not discouraged by his defeat, but rather somewhat smug.
It seems that being able to fight against the King of Chambord is already an Glory.
The human mind is truly a wondrous thing.
The fog today is thicker than ever before, covering the world in a white expanse. As time goes by, it shows no signs of dissipating; instead, it grows even denser.
The army of Chambord slaughtered all the soldiers who had come with Kulun and Andrew, and following Inzaghi's example, they impaled their heads on their swords and stuck them upside down in the ground, forming a bloody circle that surrounded the blood-soaked steel prison wagon and the corpses on it, which had been burned to ashes by the [ Inferno ], as if as a sacrifice.
Having done all this, Chambord's army set off towards the imperial capital, Saint Petersburg, and soon disappeared into the thick fog in the distance.
Diles, the top young expert of Hot Springs Pass, stood still and watched the Chambord army depart. Only then did he gradually use his Fire-Element Dou Qi to suppress the injuries caused by the Glazed Fist Imprint Heavenly Frost Fist in his body, allowing him to move freely again.
He glanced at his younger brother, Kulun, who was lying on the ground begging for help, and showed a look of disgust. He ignored him completely, turned around, and slowly walked away from the spot.
"Old partner, what do you think?"
On the platform atop the largest magic tower in the very center of Hot Springs Pass, a wise Old Man with white hair and beard, standing motionless between two figures, suddenly spoke. He wore a spotless white robe and held a tall white staff that exceeded his height. His entire being exuded a powerful aura of ethereal grace, as if he were about to detach himself from the world.
"I can't see through it," replied a tall, imposing figure with gray hair and beard like a lion.
He was covered in a simple, standard-issue battle armor, covered with marks from swords and blades. Even though this seemingly old and ordinary armor was worn by him, it exuded an indescribable aura, as if a thousand troops were entrenched behind him. A fierce and desolate battlefield atmosphere filled the space around him, but this was merely a natural expression of his aura, not something that the fifty-year-old man deliberately created.
"Hahaha, I never expected there to be a young man whom even the commander of the [ Gale Legion ] couldn't see through." The old man in white robes, with white hair and a white beard, stroked his beard and smiled slightly, "This King of Chambord is so audacious, daring to kill someone from the [ Gale Legion ]. Given your Ptolemy's notoriously protective nature, I thought you would kill him. But, haha, you actually let him go."
"I can't see through it, and I'm not confident, so I won't make a move," the armored Old Man said calmly.
"What? Even you, the commander of the [ Gale Legion ], aren't confident you can defeat this young upstart?" The white-haired, white-bearded old man's smile remained unchanged, "It seems my judgment was correct. King of Chambord held back his strength when facing Diles. Another prodigy is about to emerge among the 250 vassal states of the Zenit Empire!"
"A chaotic era is approaching, and naturally, many extraordinary talents will emerge. King of Chambord Alexander, can be considered one of them..." The armored elder's expression remained calm and unyielding. "Your judgment, Six-Star Archmage Advocaat, is certainly correct. King of Chambord is indeed a genius, and I am not confident that I can defeat him!"
"Although you're not confident of victory, you're confident of killing him. Why don't you make your move?"
"I understand what you mean. If we mobilize the [ Gale Legion ], we can certainly kill him, but killing such a martial arts master would also result in significant losses for the [ Gale Legion ]. I won't allow the Empire's main battle legion to suffer losses for such a trivial matter..." The armored Old Man shook his head slightly, then continued, "Besides, the Empire is currently in a precarious state. The emergence of such a young genius might not be a bad thing for the Empire!"
"Oh?" The white-bearded old man stroked his long beard, a half-smile on his face. "Old friend, you seem to admire him quite a bit?"
"A young and outstanding talent, a prodigy—how could I not admire him?"
"The reason is simple. This so-called prodigy not only defeated your eldest son and shattered his confidence in martial arts, but also beat your second son to a pulp like a dead dog. Don't you care about your own son at all?"
"Hmph! Diles's life has been too smooth; encountering a little setback is actually better for him. As for Kulun... hmph, I, Ptolemy, have never considered such trash worthy of my concern."
"Tsk tsk tsk, still has that foul temper. Although Kulun is useless, he is still your biological son left by your sister-in-law Vera before her death..."
"I think you should call Vera sister-in-law." The armored old man's eyes changed. "If it weren't for Vera, given what Kulun has done in Hot Springs Pass over the years, he would have died tens of thousands of times over!"
The atmosphere became somewhat somber upon hearing this topic, and the white-bearded old man suddenly fell silent.
The two of them, atop the magic tower, had witnessed the entire event outside Hot Springs Pass from beginning to end through special means. It was precisely because they remained silent that the commotion caused by Sun Fei and Diles's fierce battle did not attract the attention of the Hot Springs Pass guards and other powerful figures. Otherwise, the events of today would likely have been very different.
The two of them, tacitly agreeing, deliberately let today's events pass.
What they didn't know was that what Sun Fei relied on was far beyond what they could imagine.
Third update.