In the duke's mansion, the duke was listening to a report from his undercover agent planted in the Magic Academy.

  The Duke's eldest daughter has just been promoted to Assistant Minister of Finance, and his youngest daughter is about to become a princess. Now he is unmatched in the empire, whether in prestige or power. However, the Duke now listened to the report of the spy with a heavy face. Contrary to his recent rapid rise, his mood was now completely on thin ice. Because he received a letter a few days ago.

  To be precise, it wasn't that he received it, but rather that he picked it up. The sender was Bishop Ronis, and the recipient written on the letter was Sedelos, the lord of Euford City. In a very coincidental opportunity, the duke's spy in the Magic Academy got the task of delivering the letter, and naturally, he first sent the letter to the duke's hands. The duke opened the letter and took a look, and even with his self-control and composure, he was immediately shocked beyond recognition.

  Bishop Ronis said in the letter that the Duke had already won in the imperial political struggle, but this man's ambition was too big, and taking the throne was only a matter of time. And if such a person really sat on the throne, it would be a threat to every country around him, so it's best to deal with him now when he's just starting out. Please have Sedlos bring all the letters exchanged between the Duke and him in the past, as well as all evidence of cooperation, to the capital.

  The friendship between the Duke and Sedros only began six or seven years ago. He wasn't very clear about the scholar's past, and he never expected that Ronis Bishop was an old acquaintance of his. From this letter, it seems that Ronis Bishop should have known early on that he was secretly helping Sedros establish Euphoria, but he didn't show any reaction at all, which made the Duke sigh in admiration for the old man's profound mind. And now he wants to take the initiative and strike a nearly fatal blow as soon as he makes his move.

  Although Sedros was his friend, as a man who did great things, the Duke knew that there was never any friendship that could overcome a bad relationship. Sedros also knew what kind of person he was, and the words in this letter were not even an exaggeration to himself.

  If this letter really arrived, then the consequences would be unthinkable. Now he must put all his energy into how to deal with this matter.

  However, Bishop Ronis held a high and powerful position, and the relationship between his prestige and status made ordinary means completely ineffective. In this situation, even the normally steady Duke had to take risks. The Duke laid down a dense network of eyes around the Magic Academy, closely monitoring every move of Bishop Ronis and those associated with him, waiting for an opportunity.

  As soon as Asa emerged from the teleportation magic circle in Wangdu, he didn't stay for a moment. After inquiring about it, Klauses' troops seemed to have not returned yet, and he immediately left the city.

  One evening, after three or four days of hurrying towards Aile, Assa finally found Rodhart and Klauss's team escorting the prisoners at a post station. He didn't appear rashly, but quietly went to find Rodhart.

  Rothbart, who was reading a book under the lamp, was surprised by his sudden appearance. "You've come just in time. Has Aili's matter been settled? I haven't received any news from the pursuing troops, so I was getting anxious. I didn't expect you to rush here alone."

  "How's the situation here? Your senior brother hasn't laid hands on those old villagers of yours again, has he?"

  Rodhart shook his head. "He's already got us all in the palm of his hand, so there's no need to force me anymore. Along the way, I've been deliberately slowing down the team's speed without leaving any traces, and I want him to think that I'm really out of options and at his mercy, so he's relaxed his guard a lot."

  "Have you and your fellow villagers discussed this matter?"

  Rodhart hesitated, shaking his head in response: "This is impossible. No matter how relaxed he is, he will never give me this opportunity. Besides, how can I let other soldiers discover that I went to talk to the prisoner who framed me?"

  "So you want me to catch up, what are you planning to do?"

  "Whatever the officials in Aire or the soldiers here know, they only know that they are to bring the prisoner back to the capital for trial," Rodhart said in a very low voice. "So as long as I lead the troops back to the capital instead of Klaus, I can resolve this matter perfectly." He patted Asa's hand and said, "No matter what reason or method you use, as long as you can separate my brother from the team alone, trap him for a while, at least half a day, of course, the longer the better. Then I can take the troops away."

  "Is that all?" Asa frowned.

  "This is by no means easy. The most important thing is how to get Klaus away. This man is meticulous and clever, if he has a mind to guard against us, it will be absolutely impossible for him to fall into our trap so easily... Until now, I still haven't found his weakness..."

  Asa furrowed his brow in thought for a moment before nodding with a smile: "Alright, I'll have him leave the team tomorrow morning."

  Roderick was taken aback for a moment. "Do you have a way?"

  "Don't worry, I may have a way out for what you think is difficult."

  "So it's best at noon when the troops are far away from the station, you lead him astray, so I have a reason to continue leading the troops forward."

  "Alright." Asa suddenly remembered, said to Roderick. "Since that guy Klaus is only on guard against you, you go and lure him away now, I'll go take a look at those captured people."

  After some thought, Rodhart seemed to hesitate for a moment before nodding. "Alright."

  Before long, Asa slipped into the horse barn where the prisoners were being held, with Rodhart's assistance. He easily and quietly knocked out the guards, not worrying that they would report to Clavius tomorrow. As long as the prisoners didn't escape, no one would voluntarily report a mysterious incident to a brutal and cruel official.

  These villagers of Rodhart were excited to see Asa appear. However, what surprised Asa was that although they had not been in contact with Rodhart, they seemed to have already figured out the whole story. The hunter Leven was still alive and it was he who told everyone about what happened, and after discussing it among themselves and talking to the guard soldiers, they got a general idea of what happened. Now hearing Asa tell them again, they all understood how things were.

  "We've already discussed this, once we arrive at the capital, we won't betray you two no matter what." Hunter Leven's eyes were blind, his body completely paralyzed, but he could still speak and hear. He was still the leader of this group. "Our lives were saved by you two, how can we betray you? We're glad that Little Rod has reached such a position today. Anyway, if we fall into those corrupt officials' hands, we'll all die sooner or later. We'd rather kill ourselves than implicate him. It's just a pity for those children..."

  A Sa looked at the group of children beside him, some were under ten years old, and there were also those who couldn't speak yet.

  "They're young and don't understand, they might leak the information. When there's no other choice, we'll..." Hunter Levin's voice choked, his eyes now just two empty holes, but next to him a mother's tears were already streaming down.

  "No, I came this time specifically to tell you that we will definitely rescue you. Tomorrow at noon, Rodhart will lead the team forward, and as long as he reaches the capital, he will have a way to save you."

  Ah Sa didn't know what method Rodhart had, but since he said it, he must have done it. He smiled at the few little kids over there, went over to pat their heads, and whispered: "You just wait with peace of mind."

  The next day at noon, Asa appeared in front of the troops just as Rodhart had arranged.

  It was a surprise for him that Klaus appeared alone in front of him, and Rodhart naturally had to pretend to be surprised as well.

  "Lord Templar, you're quite swift in your actions?" Klaudius gazed at Asa slowly. "You've gone to such great lengths to concern yourself with us. I wonder if the heretics of Aire have already been dealt with? That was a task entrusted to you by His Imperial Majesty and the Archbishop..."

  "It's already been settled." Asa also stared back at him, a smile spreading across his face that was full of mockery and confidence. "I even went back to the capital to have some fun for a few days. Do you want to know what I did in the capital these past few days?"

  "Lord Godoff is really in high spirits, huh..." Klaus's eyes narrowed as he scanned Asa. He was quite certain that the current situation was one where he had the upper hand. He couldn't fathom where the expressions on this trash's face were coming from, the ones that made him want to chop them up with a knife. "I wonder what Lord Godoff did in the capital..."

  "I'm with your wife. You know our relationship has always been good. We've had a great time together these past few days." Asa replied.

  Klauss's expression froze on his face.

  The sentence was very loud. Enough for most of the team members to hear clearly. Suddenly, they were all stirred up.

  There were many unclear things among the nobles, but there had never been anyone who dared to shout it out loud like this. There were also a few followers of Clavis brought from the royal capital in the team.

  But in Ah Sa's heart, there was an inexplicable pang of pain. Although his intention was to provoke Klaus and make him lose face, the moment he uttered the words "your wife", his chest felt as if it had been stabbed with a knife.

  "Do you know? She actually dislikes you very much." Asa's voice grew louder. "If it weren't for your family's crappy surname, do you think you'd be worthy of marrying him? In her eyes, you're not even worth one of my pubic hairs."

  "If you think I've insulted you, if you're not satisfied, I've already chosen a place to settle our problem privately." Asa pointed at Klaus. "Are you coming?"

  Rodhart stared at Asa in shock, he couldn't have imagined that Asa would use such a method. This was no longer about using strategy to compromise, but directly fighting to the death.

  Clovius's forehead had several blue veins jumping, jumping so fiercely that they almost burst through the skin. A head of golden hair was blown by the wind. The soldiers were looking at him just now, and now everyone dared to fix their eyes on him. But just as the anger on his face was about to break through his expression, he suddenly started laughing loudly, laughing uncontrollably, like a madman.

  Then his laughter stopped abruptly. He nodded: "Okay. I accept your challenge. I'll go with you."

  "Lord Rodhart, as you wish, the troops are now entirely yours. Take them away first." He flashed a smile full of malice. "Take them away quickly, don't waste the kindness of the gods."

  Rodhart met his gaze coldly, nodded slightly, then looked at Asa and sighed. "Alright."

  Klaudius followed Asa and left the team. The team continued to advance under Rodhart's leadership, and soon disappeared from view.

  Then there were two people left, Klaudius followed Asa in the opposite direction. Along the way, neither of them made a sound again.

  I don't know how long I walked. When I reached the junction of a grassland and a small forest, Klaus stopped his footsteps. "Let's just stay here. There's no need to go further. Your purpose has already been achieved."

  Asa turned around to see Klaus smiling. It seemed like he had been wearing this, for him, extremely rare expression on his face since leaving the team. Asa furrowed his brow and asked: "You seem really happy?"

  "Of course, I'm delighted. Because I can now kill you with good reason." Klavius was still smiling, his laughter like a ferocious beast howling. His eyes had become sharp as a needle dipped in deadly poison. "I couldn't care less about what Rodhart does, let him do whatever he wants. The Duke is using these people to make the two of you surrender and restrain Ronis at the same time. This might be the greatest political gain from this affair...... but for me, it's far less enjoyable than killing you. There have been opportunities before, but somehow you managed to escape. And now, you're actually coming to provoke me, I have a good reason to kill you."

  "I won't forget the thrill I'm feeling today, because I get to kill you with my own hands." Klavius's hand rested on the hilt of his sword at his waist. "I know you're trying to stall for that little brat. Don't worry, as a reward for delivering yourself to me, I'll grant your wish. I promise to spend an entire day killing you slowly and magnificently here, so even in hell, you won't forget it."

  "Haha..." Asa was also laughing. "You speak as if you really had a chance..."

  But his smile lasted only until Klaus drew his sword.

  Although Rodhart has always had a high opinion of Klause, Asa is not so sure. He believes that a person's ability can be seen from their character and temperament. A broad-minded and generous personality is often proof of exceptional ability. For example, General Gru, or Sandru. What kind of skill could someone like Klause have, with his narrow and sinister mind?

  Perhaps his judgment was somewhat reasonable, but he forgot one very important thing. Klauvus is the apprentice of Roland, the commander of the Holy Knights and the Empire's First Swordsman, and the future successor to the position of Commander of the Holy Knights, a position that cannot be obtained through family status or any conspiracy.

  So it wasn't until Klaus's hand waved and his body moved that Asa knew he was wrong, and very wrong at that.

  What Clavius drew out was not a sword, but a mighty river. A brilliant light seemed to come from the sky and gathered all the majesty that had been condensed for hundreds of years, then flowed eastward into the sea, never to return. The magnificent and stirring torrent wanted to engulf everything in front of it, sweeping away everything without leaving anything behind.

  Such a majestic river of sword energy and momentum he had seen before, it was on a night in the imperial capital that came from behind. He still thought that the sneak attack that time was Duke Mrlak.

  But he was completely wrong, and the Duke's depth and cunning would never have personally acted even if he really wanted to kill someone. If he could have figured this out at the time, then this time would not have been so reckless. At least he should have taken up his weapon, but now he is empty-handed.

  At that time, Klaus's hand was just a mediocre sword that could be obtained at any time, and now it is the most handy, the most suitable, and the most powerful weapon that can exert this blow.

  But all of these were not the most fatal, the most fatal was Asa's own mental slackness, which was more deadly than being unarmed and back to attack. The loss of vigilance and fighting spirit made him fall into absolute disadvantage. Except for retreat, he had no other choice.

  The sword light in front of him was no longer a surging river wave, but had evolved into a tsunami that rushed forward with a loud whistle. He didn't even have the leisure to turn around, and could only retreat, retreat, and retreat again.

  Some people are mediocre everywhere, but in one particular area they have unparalleled talent. Klaus is such a person. He is indeed narrow-minded and too cunning to be considered an outstanding talent or even a good person, but he is indeed a genius swordsman. As soon as he has a sword in his hand, the talents, vitality and soul that he cannot display elsewhere can burst out radiantly.

  As a top swordsman, as long as the timing is grasped, one move must be made to kill the opponent. Going through moves and counter-moves with the opponent, or even just letting the opponent get hurt but not killing them, that's what second-rate or third-rate swordsmen do. Clavius' first sword was a fatal blow, a decisive blow that determined victory or defeat, life or death.

  Asa continued to retreat, as if the sword momentum and aura that could destroy everything was just one foot in front of him, and as soon as his footsteps stopped, he would be completely swallowed up and torn to pieces.

  He retreated into the woods behind him, with a tsunami of sword energy following closely. The trees around and behind him all collapsed and fractured. His body seemed to be shrouded in an invisible but incredibly powerful lawnmower, while the trees were like fragile foam, constantly breaking, blowing away, and flying up as he retreated, forcing his way through the woods. But even so, the sword light tsunami was not hindered in the slightest, instead getting closer and closer...

  The sword's aura was only half a foot away from him, his hair had already started to break off, and his skin could feel the pain of tearing before it happened.

  Can't retreat anymore, retreating will only lead to death. Asa suddenly stood still, all his spirit and strength converged together. With the intense concentration of his spirit, the sword energy's tidal wave in his eyes restored into a single sword, he gathered up all the fighting spirit that could be gathered under the current situation, both hands grasped towards that radiant, mighty, withering, and crumbling sword.

  Asa's fingers and palm could feel the sword's speed, power, vibration, and the murderous aura it emitted. The sword's energy was all-encompassing, and anyone who could fully sense this one sword would inevitably have another feeling: there is nothing in this world that this sword cannot cut through.

  But he didn't hesitate, didn't waver. He had to catch it, no matter what, and the clash of his determination and the opponent's killing intent and sword energy was a contest of strength versus strength, a bare-handed fight to the death.

  The air between his palm and the sword had been compressed to its limit; with just one more touch, it would be clear who lived or died, who won or lost.

  A sword is like a tsunami. A pair of bare hands, can they grasp the entire tsunami?

  I don't know, because the sword's aura suddenly disappeared and was gone. He only grasped at nothingness. The sword suddenly and inexplicably veered off to the side, leaving its original trajectory. As a result, that sharp and unmatched sword energy vanished from the sword. It was like a great painting, where all the brushstrokes and spirit were perfect until the very last stroke, which was suddenly scribbled out like a child's graffiti, completely ruining the entire masterpiece.

  Although this heavenly sword suddenly abandoned itself halfway, it might be a more fatal change for Asa. The sword deviated from its original trajectory and track, brushing past his outstretched hands that were ready to receive the sword, and stabbed straight at his throat, with the tip of the sword only two inches away from his skin.

  Asa was shocked, this change was too sudden, too unthinkable. But even this shock was fatal, the sword had no sword energy or momentum but still had speed and power. Although it was no longer a vast and powerful force, it was still a deadly sharp weapon.

  In that instant of shock, the sword tip had already pierced through his throat's outer skin and was about to cut into his trachea and enter his cervical vertebra.

  In this case, there was no tactic or skill, only instinct. Asa's hand rested on the hilt of his sword and pulled it out with a fierce jerk, while his body desperately twisted to the side... With a splat, a burst of blood erupted from his neck.

  But Asa knew he had already won, the sword tip only grazed his carotid artery and was then pulled away by his fingers, only bringing up a small piece of skin around the fatal blood vessel that would not be fatal. It wasn't until then that he could divert his attention and saw Klaus's face which had been in front of him all along.

  That was the face of a loser, anger, unwillingness, and fear. His sword had been pulled out, his momentum was old, his moves were exhausted, in this short blink of an eye he as a swordsman completely lost all combat power, completely defeated.

  Asa naturally wouldn't give him a chance to regroup and launch another attack; his other hand had already grasped the wrist of the hand holding the sword, exerting force.

  The sound of bones shattering for the first time was surprisingly pleasant.

  The hand that had been withdrawn from the sword clenched into a fist and struck heavily on Klaus's chest. Amidst the dense, crushing sound of bones shattering, he immediately flew backward like a kite with a broken string, floating in mid-air for a distance before crashing to the ground.

  Asa panted heavily, covering her neck with a healing technique to stop the bleeding, listening to her heart pounding wildly in her chest.

  If the sword edge had been a little higher just now, it would have been him lying on the ground. And he was able to barely parry the sword edge because the sword edge happened to hit the ring he had just obtained. Otherwise, in that brief moment when his fingers without fighting spirit were slow to react, the sword edge might have already cut open his carotid artery.

  Asa stepped forward, Clavius lay motionless on the ground, blood flowing from his mouth and nose. Asa panted, looking at him shaking his head and said: "It's not that I won, it's that you lost yourself."

  If it's a hard-hitting fight, Klitschko's chances of winning are far greater than Arreola's, and even if he loses in the end, he won't lose as thoroughly as Arreola can't win without getting damaged.

  Perhaps he wanted to win easily and skillfully, perhaps he had seen Asa's bare-handed sword catch before and was worried. According to his judgment, Asa should not have been able to completely deflect the sword in the end, but that last one happened to land on the ring, which was indeed luck, but this luck came from his choice.

  Too accustomed to not confronting problems head-on, too fixated on means, so at the critical moment, they gave up on a hard collision that would have been advantageous but also entailed losses, and instead chose to take a shortcut.

  Those who want to win easily and beautifully often end up losing most thoroughly.

  Klauss was still lying there, motionless, and it was unclear whether he had fainted or died, or if he was mortally wounded. Although for someone like him, death didn't seem to be a bad thing. But going up to deliver the final blows seemed impossible even for Asa.

  Asa recalled a sentence someone had said and spoke it out loud to Klaus on the ground: "Character is destiny."

  The horse that came with him had already run off somewhere, so Asa had to walk on foot for five days before returning to the capital. He rushed straight to the headquarters of the Holy Knights to find Rodhart.

  Passing through the square, I saw that it was crowded with people, as if an execution was being carried out. The guillotine fell and the sound of necks being severed, the crowd let out a thunderous roar, seemingly taking sadistic pleasure in it, yet also seeming to be somewhat reluctant. Asa didn't pay attention to it.

  The crowd dispersed, and onlookers began to head back home one after another. The murmurs of regret from the onlookers spread through the air.

  "This time many people were killed, including children, it's really a bit miserable."

  "But these rioters really deserve to be killed, they even dared to kidnap and murder the imperial envoy. Fortunately, Lord Rodhart has a way, this case that had been unsolved for so long was solved by him in an instant, it's truly impressive."

  "Of course, that's a hero." Someone exclaimed in admiration. "But these rioters don't seem so fierce after all. If it weren't for the conclusive evidence and even the seal of the former imperial minister being found, it would be hard to believe. I heard that these rioters also falsely accused Lord Rodhart and another priest of the church of being the culprits, what a ridiculous lie..."

  A Sa suddenly pushed open the crowd in front of him and rushed to the side of the execution ground.

  The execution has ended, and the executioner and his assistant are picking up more than a dozen heads from the ground and putting them into bags. Meanwhile, soldiers are carrying more than a dozen headless corpses to carts like they were cargo, probably to be sent to Sandru.

  Asa's first sight was a head with a distorted face and no eyes, where the eyes should have been were two empty sockets, so even in death they stared open, seemingly watching him. Next to it were several children's heads, each one he had seen before.