He was dead just like that.

Vaneira screamed hysterically.

Adrian just stood there and stared at her. He did not even give her the chance to mourn her dead husband.

"Send your next representative." Adrian said, his voice devoid of emotion.

He took a step forward.

"You wanted to take everything from me, didn’t you? You even sent an assassin to get my head in the past so don’t expect mercy from me." Adrian said as he looked at her. "Isn’t that why you proposed this fight? Stop crying and continue because I am not going to let you go."

Vaneira just sobbed and cried as she looked at the bloody corpse. Then she looked behind her at her own general.

Vekar let out a long, tired sigh. He walked forward and looked at Adrian.

"You went a bit too far." Vekar said gruffly.

"Not really." Adrian replied. "Maybe I did go a bit too far in your eyes. But there are no limits for me when someone disturbs the peace of my daughter. I want her to grow up in a really nice environment and away from all the negative people."

He glared at the general.

"If someone forces themselves inside our lives, I am going to take them out in the most brutal way I possibly can." Adrian stated. "And there will be no exceptions."

He raised his fists again.

"You are the last representative, right?" Adrian said. "Come and fight me."

Adrian paused for a second.

"Don’t worry." Adrian added. "I’m not actually going to kill you."

This comment made the veteran general feel a sudden spike of nervousness. Because the way Adrian spoke made it sound like victory was already guaranteed. There was absolutely zero doubt in his voice.

’I am a B rank knight.’ Vekar thought. ’How is he this confident?’ 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

Vekar decided to just test it for himself. Even if he lost the duel, Adrian would take over everything Vaneira owned, which meant Vekar would just end up working under him anyway.

’If I win, it is a good thing for my lady.’ Vekar reasoned in his head. ’And if I lose, I need to use this opportunity to show off my skills so that I can continue being a general under his command.’

So he agreed to fight.

He looked at Burke who was holding the bunch of swords. Vekar shook his head and turned to look at Adrian.

"As an honorable knight, I refuse to use a sword when my opponent does not use a sword." Vekar declared.

Adrian raised an eyebrow. "I am a little disappointed in you."

He dropped his fighting stance for a second.

"If your enemy is giving you a handicap, it means they are either overconfident or they are so certain about beating you that they do not mind you using a weapon." Adrian lectured him. "So let me ask you again. Are you really foolish enough to bet your life on this?"

Adrian pointed a finger at him.

"You are going to work under me soon and I do not want a dumb general." Adrian said. "So choose properly. Would you put your entire army in danger because of your knight’s honor, or will you pick up the sword and do what it takes to protect your land?"

Vekar did not even know why it happened, but the hair on his arms stood on end. He could feel his heart pumping harder.

Weirdly enough, he felt his blood boil in a good way. His warrior instincts were screaming at him that the man standing in front of him was the exact kind of leader a territory needed to survive.

He honestly just wanted to give up right now so he could formally swear loyalty to Adrian. But he knew throwing the fight would just disappoint the Baron.

"Okay." Vekar said as he grabbed a sword. "I am ready."

He did not ask Adrian for permission to attack first. He just charged forward and swung the blade.

And for the very first time, Adrian was surprised by the speed.

Because even Claire was not a B rank knight yet. Adrian was totally used to fighting Claire’s C rank speed, so this explosive burst of speed was something he was not really used to handling.

He pushed his body to its limits just to dodge the slash.

But Vekar kept stepping forward, swinging the sword in brutal, relentless arcs. He just kept swinging and swinging.

Adrian actually had to use his telekinesis to survive. He locked his mana onto the general’s hand and the pommel of the sword. He used his mana at it’s maximum output just to slow the strikes as much as possible.

And it helped a lot.

Adrian used the slowed timing to dodge a fatal thrust, then he immediately made some distance.

He used his Gust spell right through the soles of his boots. Highly compressed balls of wind formed right below his feet when he lifted them up and the exact moment he brought his feet back to the ground, the wind exploded downward.

The blast launched Adrian backward and he managed to create a huge gap between them.

He then skidded to a halt and looked at Vekar.

"You are much faster than I expected." Adrian said, catching his breath. "Looks like the gap between a C rank knight and a B rank knight is not that small."

He stood up straight. "Okay, I guess I have done all the testing now."

He brought his chakrams back out, making them spin and hover around his shoulders.

"Are you ready now?" Adrian asked.

"Yes." Vekar said.

This time, Adrian made the first move. He sent all the chakrams flying extremely fast toward the general.

Vekar’s sword moved. He hit each and every single ring with his steel blade and deflected them away from his body.

Adrian smiled. "You are really good. But do you know why I even picked such weapons to use?"

Vekar shook his head.

"A swordsman can at most grab a sword or throw a sword." Adrian explained. "And they can at most use two swords at once. If you are desperate enough and talented enough, you might find a way to hold a third sword with your mouth. But you cannot use more."