Virut received the mission with great excitement. The past two months in the training camp had been nothing short of grueling. To sum it up in two words: utterly crushed. Besides the other knight squires, every knight in the camp could easily overwhelm them. Though they were of similar age, the difference in strength was stark.

Despite each of them feeling that they had improved immensely over these two months, without a proper opponent to test themselves against, they couldn’t experience the thrill of dominance. Now, a perfect group of targets stood before them.

The southern knights were already aware of Derrick’s wager. For the sake of their honor and to save their comrades, there was no way they could back down. They were here to snatch food from the tiger’s mouth, fully prepared to face various difficulties. Even the nobles on the wooden platform were paying close attention to this match.

“Virut? He’s quite skilled, but among the official knights, he’s only mid-to-upper tier,” one northern noble expressed concern. Virut was well-known, but stronger knights than him had already lost. Meanwhile, the southern and royal capital nobles had different thoughts. Virut still looked young, and no matter how strong he was for his age, how could he compete with seasoned southern knights? Those knights in their prime wouldn’t be defeated by a youthful Virut, would they?

An old earl quietly approached Derrick. Making sure no one else was listening, he whispered, “Derrick, how confident are you?”

“Completely.”

“Are you sure?”

“Relax. With my titled knights backing us up, we won’t lose.”

Derrick had every reason to be confident. His elite knights were of the third or fourth rank, which was already impressive for titled knights. Having recently fought in a war and without a day of rest from training, these elite knights were formidable. If they couldn’t handle the challenge, then there was no point in competing. Moreover, unlike the old earl, Derrick had no shame. If pushed too far, he wouldn’t hesitate to flip the table. Even the strongest knights couldn’t withstand the charge of an entire cavalry regiment.

While they were speaking, Virut had already taken down one southern knight. With glee, he paraded around the arena, carrying his opponent’s helmet.

“Show-off!” Derrick couldn’t help but curse. Wasting energy at a moment like this?

The southern knights were shaken. They hadn’t underestimated Virut because of his age and had sent a skilled opponent. Yet, their knight had been defeated. Virut then went on to defeat five more southern knights before he, breathing heavily, finally withdrew. The crowd’s murmuring became impossible to ignore, and even the nobles set aside decorum.

“So that’s Virut, the northern knight prodigy?” The southern knights had gathered intelligence on Virut, but they hadn’t expected him to be this powerful. Clearly, their information was flawed.

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As Virut stepped back, the southern knights thought they could catch their breath. Yet the performance of the knight squires left them utterly humiliated. A group of official knights rotated through challenges, yet managed only a ten percent win rate, without a single consecutive victory. Earl Lovett was so astonished he nearly fell off the wooden platform. Those nearby could hear him muttering repeatedly, “How is this possible? How can this be?”

After ten years of relentless efforts, he had thought they’d caught up to the northern knights. The southern knights had been commendable so far, holding their own against anyone. He even believed that today marked the rise of the southern faction. But this dream was shattered, crushed cruelly by Derrick, who metaphorically slapped his face over and over, telling him, “You’re still far from being good enough.”

Earl Lovett couldn’t stand the humiliation and growled, “Send in the titled knights.” He hadn’t come to the north without a trump card. The southern nobles had spent years gathering and training these titled knights, their true advantage. The Royal Front Council had always been their stage, and now it would be the same.

To win, they only needed to defeat three northern knights. It wouldn’t look good, but losing everything was even worse. The titled knights got the signal, but they were reluctant. The earl’s interests weren’t theirs, and their knightly honor made it hard to swallow their pride. Yet the pressure from the great noble was immense, and under its unrelenting force, honor was soon forgotten.

When a knight stepped forward, bearing an elaborate crest on his chest, everyone knew a fierce fight was about to begin. Titled knights represented the pinnacle of knightly honor, with a reputation forged in countless duels. There could be no frauds among them. In Derrick’s eyes, titled knights were essentially ninth or tenth-rank official knights, or even elite knights. Every one of them was a powerhouse in heavy armor, capable of charging in a wild assault.

Derrick quickly gave the order: “Let everyone have a go. It’s rare to find sparring partners like these.” Real combat training was far more intense than anything within their ranks, and Derrick wanted his squires to feel real pressure. The titled knights, forced to fight, could only suppress their anger and fend off wave after wave of squires.

It was humiliating—respected titled knights reduced to fighting squires. If word got out, their reputation would be tarnished. One of them even tried to fight fiercely and intimidate the squires into backing down. But instead of retreating, the squires got even more fired up. Even Virut, after a brief rest, rejoined the fray for a few more rounds.

“That’s more like it. This is the spirit of the northern knights,” the old earl said. For years, he had felt that the northern knights had lost their fighting spirit, but he saw it now in these squires. No wonder the number of titled knights had dwindled.

Northern knights still had that fierce, unyielding energy.

“You’re trying to exhaust us, aren’t you?” Earl Lovett snapped. “How are we supposed to keep fighting like this?”

“If you can, why don’t your men exhaust ours too? You seem to have more knights than we do,” Derrick retorted.

Fortunately, the challenge was over. The titled knights, although having fought several rounds, hadn’t expended much energy. Just then, the currently fighting titled knights appeared to have come to an agreement with Simon. Both sides selected three fighters, forming a triangle formation. This was going to be a chaotic melee—a much more dangerous challenge. Perhaps they were tired of repeated battles and wanted to settle things once and for all.