Young noble knights, apart from constantly competing in drinking to show off their robustness, also courteously invited ladies and misses to dance, in a display of gentlemanly manners.
This was a process of subtle competition, where one's status was elevated by inviting more noble and beautiful ladies to dance, boasting among peers. A few, specifically targeting others' companions, relied on their handsome and dashing demeanor to suppress rivals and smugly snatch away others' companions under everyone's gaze.
As an unspoken rule of the noble circle, even if deeply annoyed, people refrained from reacting due to concern for their reputation.
One of the five knights of the temple, ‘Holy Wing’ Pompeius, stood out among his friends in a game of rock-paper-scissors. With pride and a smile, he came to invite Rody’s companion, the Duchess, to dance.
Unbeknownst to him, his winning wasn't due to luck.
It was because other knights like Holy Lance Knight Holley, ‘Holy Eye’ Sariven, Prince Vincent, and others deliberately conceded. Otherwise, Pompeius, the weakest among them, couldn't have continuously won against stronger companions. Dragon Knight Nutidora, Silver Fang Jelstoni, and ‘Holy Law’ Adlaiman watched coldly from behind, expecting Rody to get angry, leading to a verbal clash and physical fight with Pompeius.
Such jealous squabbles were common among nobles, with their silver gloves prepared for such occasions.
Once a glove was thrown at an opponent, it signified a challenge to a knightly duel.
The Prince of the Night wasn't very strong. If not for being laden with treasures, protected by a Pope-level 'Starlight Girl', and backed by the mighty Underworld of the Abyss, human powerhouses would have assassinated him.
But in a knight's duel, one must face the enemy alone...
Admittedly, while Rody wasn't as strong as Pompeius, he had treasures for protection. Holley and others weren't worried Pompeius would accidentally kill him, nor were they concerned about the Abyss retaliating and invading the human world. However, there was a chance Pompeius could beat up the arrogant Prince of the Night, leaving him disheveled.
Prince Vincent and others harbored such thoughts, yet no one wanted to be the disliked initiator.
Pompeius, younger and slightly weaker but eager to prove himself, was the perfect candidate.
"Noble Duchess, beautiful angel, as your faithful knight, may I have the honor of inviting you for a dance?" As the youngest of the five knights of the temple's younger generation, Pompeius had always wanted to prove himself in front of the world. Whether he could shake Kamarlon today depended on Rody's reaction.
He was prepared for Rody to react angrily and had his knightly glove ready.
For fame, to prove himself, and to climb to a higher status, Pompeius felt he must seize every good opportunity.
"Young knight..." The Duchess, under normal circumstances, might have accepted the invitation if it were someone else beside her, not the Prince of the Night. But at that moment, her admiration and fondness for Rody had reached its peak. She stole a glance at him and found that the Prince His Highness seemed indifferent to this matter, apparently unaware of the love battles among human men. Nevertheless, the Duchess still wanted to stand up for him. She smiled, gently holding Rody's hand, and turned slightly to Pompeius, saying, "Thank you for your kindness, I am grateful, but young knight, I am currently in conversation with Prince His Highness and cannot be elsewhere. Young knight, there might be misses more beautiful than me at the banquet, waiting for your invitation! Please do not disturb Prince His Highness and me, okay?"
"Ah?" Pompeius was not unused to rejection, but typically, when noble ladies and misses declined, it was a polite way to indicate they were already invited or waiting for someone else.
However, a response like the Duchess's, who clearly wasn’t waiting for anyone else and bluntly refused him to save her male companion’s face, was very rare. Pompeius thought even if he invited Emperor William II's favorite concubine to dance, he wouldn't face a more embarrassing and unmerciful rejection.
Although the Duchess spoke politely, what she really meant was, "I'm having a pleasant conversation with the Prince of the Night, please leave immediately."
"What is this fool doing here?" Rody looked at Pompeius strangely, his gaze like that on a clown. This contemptuous look and the blood-boiling question completely infuriated Pompeius.
"He wanted to invite someone to dance, Prince of the Night, you know I’m waiting for you..." The words of the Duchess made Pompeius want to hit his head against the wall.
"Dancing is not urgent, haha, I really want to see your charm. How many fools do you think will invite you to dance tonight?" Rody joked with the Duchess, ignoring Pompeius who was still standing behind, trembling with anger.
"Prince of the Night, I challenge you!" Holy Wing Pompeius, suppressing his rage, stepped back three steps and threw his silver glove at Rody, issuing a challenge.
"Idiot, who cares about you!" The Prince of the Night obviously didn't know the human knight's challenge rules, where those who avoid a challenge are seen as cowards. However, from the Prince of the Night's tone, it was more disdain for dueling the opponent rather than fear of battle. Marshal Goton and Minister of Finance Mack hurried over to dissuade them, and secretly felt relieved that the Prince of the Night didn't know the knight's challenge rules, otherwise the matter would have escalated significantly.
"Hee hee hee!" The ladies and young misses covered their mouths with their fans and laughed because the expressions of the Prince of the Night and Pompeius were amusingly contrasting.
The Prince of the Night was indifferent, ignoring the existence of the other.
Pompeius, however, was alternating between red and white in the face, furious and exasperated, and even Minister Mack and several dukes couldn't pull him away.
"I know you're a coward, a waste who dares not accept a challenge, even your appearance is borrowed from someone else. You vermin from the Abyss, other than seducing women at banquets, seducing other men's wives, what else can you do?" Pompeius, in a moment of impulse, blurted out some words that shouldn't be said in front of nobility. These words, one after another, immediately changed everyone's expressions.
Although seducing other men's wives and daughters at noble gatherings was a kind of glorious tradition, it was an unspoken matter.
These few shouted sentences undoubtedly tore off everyone's fig leaf, making everyone feel naked. The most annoyed was Marshal Goton; he had finally hosted a salon banquet and did not expect to encounter such an embarrassment.
If he had known Pompeius was so immature, he really should have kept this mood-dampening guy out.
The second most embarrassed was the husband of the Duchess. He had intended to secretly please the Prince of the Night, as well as the King and Marshal Goton, by having his young and beautiful wife accompany the Prince at his table. However, after Pompeius blurted out his words, he became the butt of ridicule, so angry he almost had a heart attack, trembling all over.
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"Ladies and gentlemen, may I kill this mad dog?" Rody saw the opportunity and stood up to ask.
"No, my prince, you must have enough grace. I also believe that you will not add blood and misfortune to my banquet. The banquet has not yet started, my dear prince, the noble you, need not bother with the human knight's pointless challenge. Could you please join me in the side room for a rest? I will make sure he apologizes to you properly!" Marshal Goton almost said, 'Good, if you can kill this guy, that would be best,' but he didn't want the Temple to trouble him, nor did he want the Prince of the Night and Pompeius to have any accidents in a duel, so he forcefully suppressed his anger and tried to persuade with kind words.
"Don't think I will apologize to a dark devil. I am the embodiment of light and justice, the Holy Knight of the Temple, and I stand irreconcilably against evil." Pompeius, unable to step down, could only remain firm to the end.
"Shut up, you should know where to stop." Before Marshal Goton could get angry, Minister of Finance Mack already started shouting. He pointed at Pompeius and coldly huffed, "Young knight, you are truly disappointing, lacking both manners and noble upbringing. You can say that you are a disgrace to the Temple. What you just said might have been appropriate at your swearing-in ceremony, but at a noble banquet, your behavior is simply inexplicable! Who among us here is not a devout believer? Among them are the Temple's honored prayer knights and devout nobles, and even the ladies and misses respect the Light God King no less than you do. Why do we welcome the Prince of the Abyss? Do you think he's an evil dark believer? Ignorant young man, let me tell you, the entire Abyss worships the ancient Goddess of the Night, just as we believe in the Holy Mother, the War God, the Fire God, and the Water God. Although he comes from the distant Underworld, he is our dear ally, certainly not an evil heretic of the dark demons!"
"Ah..." Mack's words shocked everyone present.
"Bad luck for Pompeius now!" The Holy Lance Knight Holly, upon hearing this, immediately wanted to stand up and try to excuse his comrade.
"My dear Knight Holly, my friend, if I were you, I definitely wouldn't go out at this time, becoming the target of public criticism. Look at Marshal Goton and Minister Mack, they already have great anger in their hearts. Pompeius is unforgivable. If you stand out, it will only deepen their disappointment. See, even King William II will decree a punishment for the rude and ignorant Pompeius. Why should you be punished along with him?" Prince Vincent pulled back the Holy Lance Knight Holly, quietly advising him.
"So, not accepting a challenge is a symbol of cowardice? Damn it!" Meanwhile, the Prince of the Night had already learned the meaning of a knight's challenge from his servant Ivanov, and was furiously indignant. He stood up and stomped a silver gauntlet flat.
"Prince..." Marshal Goton saw that things were going badly, as the Prince of the Night was about to explode, and hurriedly tried to dissuade him.
"Respected Marshal, you shouldn't advise." Rody snorted, his hands gathering dark magic, proudly saying, "As a prince of the Abyss Underworld, I cannot tolerate such impudent provocation. He is challenging the dignity of our entire Underworld! Moreover, he insulted our faith. I must punish him, but of course, I will spare his life according to your human rules."
"Hypocritical prince, I must expose your evil true face!" Pompeius saw Rody gathering dark magic and was overjoyed in his heart, as his light fighting spirit was definitely the nemesis of the opponent.
"Foolish!" Holy Lance Knight Holly snorted in disappointment.
"This guy has completely lost the chance to be saved. Hmph, if he had just admitted defeat and apologized earlier, then Marshal Goton and Minister Mack would have stepped down, surely giving face to the Temple. But his stubbornness is undoubtedly sending himself to a dead end. I dare say, regardless of his victory or defeat, he's finished!" Dragon Knight Nutidora also sneered coldly.
"He was already a waste, nothing to regret." Saint Eye Sallywen was secretly pleased at this moment, as one less competitor remained.
"Alas, too impulsive." Only Saint Law Adleman's face showed a hint of pity as he slowly shook his head and sighed.
...
"Holy Light Cross Sword Slash... Angel's Wings!" Saint Wing Pompeius drew out his holy sword. Since things couldn't be reversed, rather than that, he might as well knock down the Prince of the Night. If he could demonstrate his strength to everyone, he might still receive forgiveness and praise. He was skilled in quick, agile swordsmanship, as fast as the wind, as if he had wings. Among the young knights of the Temple, he was the fastest in combat. Even if he couldn't defeat the Prince of the Night, Pompeius was confident in his self-protection.
"Abyss Dark Tide Shockwave!" The Prince of the Night's dark magic stirred up a terrifying tidal wave, engulfing Saint Wing Pompeius.
The keen-eyed strong ones could see that the Prince of the Night was not using his own magic power. The entire dark wave was sourced from a dark magic orb he held in his hand. Using a super treasure, he naturally cast magic very quickly, and without any trace, invisible to ordinary people, except for those like the Holy Lance Knight Holly and Prince Vincent.
Pompeius's bright sword energy was swallowed by the dark wave, and he was shockingly thrown back dozens of meters.
But as a Holy Temple Knight, he had holy armor to protect him, fearing nothing.
He leaped high, slashing down from the sky like a large bird. If the Prince of the Night was a magician, then the best strategy was to get close, to fight at zero distance, which would greatly reduce the combat effectiveness of any magician, making it difficult to cast spells in time.
"Night Death Eye..." The Prince of the Night raised a hand towards Pompeius, and in an instant, black light filled the hall, dimming the magical lights.
"Ah." Pompeius cried out in pain, as his holy sword in his hand gradually petrified, and his holy armor exploded violently. The Prince of the Night leaped up, delivering a spinning kick, knocking Pompeius to the ground. Mid-air, he grabbed the holy sword that Pompeius dropped, and with a punch, turned the petrified sword to dust. The audience applauded loudly, knowing the Prince of the Night had won, but no one understood exactly how he achieved victory.
Except for a few like the Holy Lance Knight Holly, Prince Vincent, and of course, Marshal Goton and some other strong individuals.
The Prince of the Night had used some sort of treasure again, perhaps something akin to Medusa's Eyes. However, to turn the most solid holy sword of the Temple Knight into stone, the power of that treasure was unimaginably high.
"Holy Light Spear..." Pompeius, both ashamed and angry, lastly chanted a Holy Light magic blessing, launching a light spear with his fighting spirit, furiously shooting at his opponent.
"Child's play, Dawn's First Light Arrow!" The Prince of the Night caught the opponent's light spear, transforming it into ten light arrows, and shot them back. While Pompeius frantically dodged, the Prince of the Night unleashed another punch, shouting, "Starlight Splendid Carnival..."
A starlight beam, ten times larger than the light spear, rapidly struck Pompeius in the chest, instantly shattering his holy armor.
The audience saw the Prince of the Night raise his right fist, a grey mist crazily condensing into a sphere. With a move called 'Twilight's Grey Dusk', Pompeius screamed as he fell, blood spurting without the protection of his holy armor, completely losing his combat ability.
With just one more punch from the Prince of the Night, he would surely die, his life hanging by a thread.
The strong ones present knew that Pompeius's defeat was not unjust.
Under the relentless assault of numerous treasures, each at least of a holy grade, wielded by the Prince of the Night, the fact that Pompeius could resist several heavy blows in such a confined space of the hall was already remarkable. Even just one of the treasures used by the Prince of the Night would have been an insurmountable challenge for Pompeius. His disastrous defeat at the hands of the Prince of the Night could only mean that it wasn't his weakness, but his misfortune, to have provoked a prince from the Abyss.
The Underworld of the Abyss sending a prince, whose strength was just above that of an Earth Warrior, as an envoy to the human world, clearly couldn't allow him to return beaten and humiliated. Now, Marshal Goton and others began to understand why the Underworld of the Abyss was so powerful.
Just on the body of a single prince, there were at least five treasures of a holy grade or higher.
Holy Lance Knight Holly and others watched, their eyes twitching uncontrollably, as each of them mentally calculated ways to counter the Prince of the Night. To avoid becoming the next Pompeius, they mustn't let him speak. Because every time he called out the name of a technique, it was a unique incantation of magic, a signal to use a certain treasure to attack. Once the command was issued, even the not-so-strong Prince of the Night could easily defeat powerful opponents.
Now, there were already five known treasures, but everyone believed that there were far more.
Prince Vincent and others exchanged glances, each making a gesture. The lowest estimate was from Silver Fang Jelstoni, who guessed that the Prince of the Night had at least eight treasures. Most guessed ten, while Saint Eye Sallywen believed it would exceed ten treasures.
Saint Law Adleman, known for his strong perception, estimated over twenty.
He also used magic to telepathically warn everyone, saying that the Prince of the Night possessed at least one divine artifact, which further shocked everyone.
"I can spare him. Killing him is no different from crushing a small bug." The Prince of the Night walked up to Pompeius and said something that slightly relieved everyone. People were willing to see Pompeius beaten up, but if it came to murder, then the banquet would be ruined. Facing such a bloody scene, even if King William II did not announce the cancellation of the banquet, no one would be able to eat anything.
"My prince, your starlight and kindness can illuminate the entire night sky," Minister of Finance Mack quickly flattered, simultaneously giving the Prince of the Night an opportunity to step down gracefully.
"As a small punishment for him and to restore the dignity of our Abyss Underworld, I decide to use my usual method to punish this human male who offended me." Everyone saw the Prince of the Night step on Pompeius and start singing loudly: "I hurt you and just laughed it off, you want to struggle, but you're helpless..."
Everyone was stunned and speechless, taking a while to come to their senses.
This unique form of humiliation was fortunately not experienced by Pompeius since he had already fainted; otherwise, he would have certainly committed suicide. Holy Lance Knight Holly and a few others couldn't help but shiver from deep within, feeling relieved that it wasn’t them who had recklessly challenged earlier. Being stepped on and sung to with ‘I hurt you, and just laughed it off’ by an opponent was indeed the most shameful and pitiful thing.
They believed they could never hold their heads high again in their lifetimes.
As for the dominance displayed by the Prince of the Night, Marshal Goton and others felt extremely satisfied and excited. They believed that this would further elevate the status of the Kamarlon Empire, which was preparing to establish diplomatic relations with the Abyss, among other nations. Also, it would be hard for the Temple to make excessive accusations.
Most importantly, the actions of the Prince of the Night had indirectly helped them regain a great deal of face.
Nobles, ladies, and young misses all applauded, with continuous clapping and some young nobles even whistled.
While Pompeius was being taken away for treatment and the banquet hall was being restored, Marshal Goton invited the Prince of the Night and the Duchess to rest in the guest room of the side hall. Of course, this was to provide the two with an opportunity to be alone. It was clear to anyone, after the impressive display by the Prince of the Night, that the Duchess was quite smitten. If they didn't want to see her indiscreetly kissing the Prince in front of everyone, it was better to let her go to the guest room in the side hall.
Of course, this was also arranged by King William II.
He had arrived earlier and had been watching everything from a magic screen in a secret room. He was very keen on forming an alliance with the Abyss Underworld but needed to see the strength and value of the Prince of the Night. Now, he felt it was time to do something. Marshal Goton and Minister of Finance Mack took care of the guests and came forward quietly, asking respectfully, “Your Majesty, what do you think?”
"Indeed, the Prince of the Night is not the magical young lad Rody. It's evident that he's a prince proficient in both magic and martial arts, but Rody, he has only exceptional spiritual power, having drunk from the forbidden chalice of magic and martial arts." King William II, who had been harboring doubts, now let them go, nodding happily, "You did well, but there's still more to be done. Go out and attend to the guests now, let everything proceed according to plan..."