Become a knight starting with synthesized entries.

Both sides simultaneously raised their longswords, assuming an attack stance.

In an instant, both of them calmed down.

Only the nobles were gossiping, wondering what the two were doing.

Leia clenched the hem of her dress, staring intently at Luo An, leaving a clear handprint on her white dress.

She was afraid that Luo An would lose, and even more afraid that he would get hurt.

"Don't lose," Leia murmured.

The moment the words left his mouth, the two knights in the arena attacked simultaneously.

They suddenly intersected at a speed invisible to the naked eye.

The nobles present felt a gust of wind rush towards them, so strong that they couldn't open their eyes.

In the blink of an eye, Roan and Pétain had switched places.

The two stood back to back.

Immediately afterwards, Luo An staggered, braced himself with his sword, and knelt on one knee.

"Pfft!" Luo An suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood.

"Young Master Pétain has won?!" the nobles exclaimed in unison. "As expected of Young Master Pétain! The pride of Lorton!"

Upon hearing the flattery, Pétain laughed heartily.

He turned around, twirled the longsword, and hoisted it onto his shoulder.

"Roan Yunina, do you think I don't know you want to compete with me in terms of momentum?"

"So what? A mere apprentice knight thinks he can defeat a trainee knight by using some petty tricks?"

"Let me tell you, I can use the same move ten times over!"

"And you, you couldn't even withstand a single move!"

"Weak, too weak! You should be glad I spared your life!"

Miss Leia! The duel may now be declared over.

Leia looked at Luo An with heartache, and at that moment she desperately wanted to rush over and check on Luo An's condition.

But Leia held back, still hoping that Roan could get back on his feet.

Like a knight, he unleashes his immense power to protect the girl he loves, breaking through his own limits and defeating Pétain.

Suddenly, Leia felt a pang of regret. She had many opportunities to refuse the duel, but she had clung to wishful thinking and actually believed that Roan would win.

"Miss Leia! What are you waiting for! End this!" Beitang, who already regarded Leia as his possession, shouted at her without any mercy.

Leia frowned, raised her hand slightly, and her arm trembled slightly.

She gazed at Roan, truly hoping that he would stand up, just as she had hoped, and that the fruits of his more than a month of training would blossom into a trainee knight, ready to defeat Pétain.

However, Luo An's body was still swaying.

Forget about suddenly becoming stronger; you might faint at any moment.

Leia felt even more heartbroken. She knew that the miracle didn't exist, and for Luo An's sake, she had no choice but to end it.

L'Oréal's red lips parted slightly.

"Wait!" Roan raised his hand to stop Leia and stood up abruptly.

"A duel only ends when one of the duelists calls for it to stop, right?"

Leia was taken aback for a moment, then nodded.

That is indeed the rule of duels.

"Then, round two." Luo An gripped his longsword tightly.

The longsword suddenly made a cracking sound.

Under the watchful eyes of all the nobles.

The longsword developed countless cracks and shattered.

"Ha!" Pétain laughed. "You poor wretch, your sword is really poor quality."

"You call yourself a knight if you can't even afford a sword made with refined iron? You're supposed to be a knight?!"

Pétain twirled the longsword in his hand, which still gleamed with a chilling light.

"My sword is half made of refined iron, tsk tsk, it's only worth 20 silver coins, about the same as your full set of equipment."

"..." Luo An never expected that the longsword that had been with him for several months would shatter at this moment.

You can't blame it, after all, Roan didn't expect Pétain's longsword to be of such good quality.

"This is troublesome," Luo An muttered, looking up to ask.

"You can't change weapons during a duel, right?"

"Fool, what are you talking about?" Pétain frowned. Hadn't Roan ever dueled before?

"Of course not, surrender! You unarmed fool, I'm not going to humiliate a fool anymore."

The nobles also cast pitying glances at Luo An.

He was beaten until he staggered, his weapon was broken, and he suffered endless humiliation.

If it were them, they would have been burning with shame and slunk out of Lionheart Manor, never to show their faces in Lorton again.

Why did Luo An still stand up?

Is it because they haven't lost face enough yet?

Luo An swayed again, then regained his balance.

To take down a trainee knight in one hit is indeed an exaggeration.

Even if Luo An is very strong, it's absolutely impossible.

If they were both apprentice knights, perhaps they could do it.

However, those two moves should be fine.

Luo An drew a small hand axe from his waist and stood holding it.

The small axe reflected a faint silver light in the sunlight, brighter than Roan's armor.

"That's—an axe made entirely of refined iron?!"

The discerning nobleman gaped in astonishment the moment he saw the small axe.

You should know that refined iron is so scarce that it's difficult to buy even with money.

It circulates only within the kingdom.

Luo An's small axe is not something that money can buy. Even they have to spend a lot of money to pave the way and rely on connections to get a palm-sized piece of fine iron.

In order to maintain the highest strength of the refined iron, it is necessary to have the kingdom’s special blacksmiths forge it to create an axe that gleams with silver light.

Roan's axe could even be passed down as a family heirloom among minor nobles.

And this guy actually wasted such a precious thing by using it to kill people.

Everyone was drawn to Roan's axe.

He lost interest in Pétain's longsword, which was mixed with fine iron.

Pétain was instantly enraged, and his hand gripping the longsword trembled slightly.

"It's just an axe! The weak will always be the weak! Nothing can be changed!"

This time, I will show you no mercy!

Luo An had the same idea. He gripped his small axe tightly.

A gentle breeze swirled around the small axe.

Without needing to say more, the two fell silent once again.

In an instant, they sprang into action, their movements so fast that even Leia couldn't react!

That speed! Leia was shocked! Could it be that Roan had broken through to the Apprentice Knight level?!

A slight smile played on her lips, but the next moment, Luo An suddenly coughed up a mouthful of black blood. He staggered a few steps, forcing himself to stand up.

In contrast, Pétain's steps remained steady. He turned around and looked at Roan calmly.

Even the most clueless nobleman could tell at this moment that Pétain had won again.

"As expected of Master Pétain! A knight among knights."

"Levi's knights are nothing special. They're good at sticking to their guns, but—sigh."

As soon as he finished speaking, Pétain raised his hand to silence everyone.

Pétain spoke softly. "What kind of combat technique is that—"

"I don't know," Luo An coughed. "You're already very skilled. I shouldn't have taken that attack head-on. Are you alright?"

Everyone thought they had misheard.

Roan, who had been coughing up blood, was actually asking Pétain if he was injured?!

The usually arrogant Pétain was now silent.

Pétain's gaze shifted, his mouth slightly open, but his internal organs were injured, and he couldn't say anything.

Immediately afterwards, Pétain groaned, his knees buckled, and he knelt on the ground.

"puff!"

Pétain coughed up a mouthful of blood, staining his armor red, and fainted.

Luo An put the axe back at his waist and nodded in greeting.