Chapter 164: Chapter 117: The Winner is Decided?

A realization seemed to dawn on him, and the corner of his eye twitched.

No, the enhanced hearing Bestowed upon him as a Dragon Knight allowed him to pick up on the whispers from the Knights in the candidate area. More accurately, it sounded like... a second heartbeat!

And that meant a second heart... As far as Baron knew, only one class possessed two hearts—Faith Knights!

Brother Sorrowful, Zhan Jiale, was actually a Faith Knight!!

The entire crowd rose to their feet.

Yalilan and Stephen’s faces froze, and they stared blankly at Lewis and Victor, their expressions a mix of shock, confusion, and utter disbelief.

The question of why the vice-captain of the Glorious Knight Order was merely a Black Iron Knight instantly answered itself.

If he was a Faith Knight, then everything made sense.

Amidst her shock, Yalilan also felt a surge of annoyance. "If he’s a Faith Knight, why didn’t he just say so in the first place?"

Aside from Wizards and their artillery-like power, Faith Knights were the strongest melee class below the Silver Tier!

The extra Secret Silver Heart allowed Spiritual Power to circulate through their bodies at a speed far exceeding others of the same tier.

And that wasn’t even counting the enhancements from the [Eight Virtues]...

For example, the physical abilities of a Silver Faction Demon Hunter, when enhanced by their Alchemy Circuits, are generally on par with a Knight of the same tier in their normal state.

But the extra Secret Silver Heart in a Faith Knight’s right breast, forged from faith, was like giving a normal Knight their own version of "Alchemy Circuits."

It wasn’t that Baron was guaranteed to lose, but winning would now be considerably more difficult.

The fight would be at least as difficult as his one-versus-six battle against the Knights yesterday. As for Sun Knight Gawain... people still couldn’t fathom why he had knelt three times that day.

Victor was very honest. "You didn’t ask."

Yalilan opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but no words came out.

She suddenly empathized with the frustration Tate and Ferdinand had felt over the past few days. Talking to these ascetic Faith Knights who abided by the [Eight Virtues] was just so stifling.

Everyone in the Demon Hunter candidate section also got to their feet, condemning their opponents for their lack of sportsmanship. They had agreed not to use [Promise] in the match! This was a foul! They demanded he forfeit!

But the gamblers who had bet on Zhan Jiale shot back from the stands, arguing with the Demon Hunters. "What are you, spies for the damn casino? We’ve got a ton of money riding on this, and you want it all to go down the drain just like that? We’ll... We’ll..."

The townspeople scratched their heads, suddenly realizing that when it came to threatening Demon Hunters, ordinary folk like them didn’t really have any good options.

Refuse to pay the fog-clearing fees? That’s a death wish for the whole family. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

Stop paying taxes? Another death wish for the whole family.

"I’ll beat you up"? A death wish for myself.

So they switched from cursing to indirectly supporting the Glorious Knight, Zhan Jiale.

On the stage, Zhan Jiale listened to the powerful thumping coming from his right breast. "The rule states that Knights are not to use [Promise]," he said. "Besides, Contract Knights can use [Assimilation]. My [Double Heartbeat], provided by the innate [Secret Silver Heart] of a Faith Knight, shouldn’t be all that different from a Contract Knight’s [Assimilation] or your [Alchemy Circuits]."

"No difference my ass! Do you hear the crap you’re spouting?" a hot-tempered Demon Hunter who had bet on Baron roared from the stands. "Are you Glorious Knights nothing but a bunch of cheating cowards?"

’He’s not wrong. The Glorious must die.’

Baron’s eyes swept over Zhan Jiale’s bulging, vein-popped muscles and the strange, blood-red tendrils that spread from his grip across the entire spear. He then glanced down at Victor offstage.

"It seems there are differences among Faith Knights, too," he said.

Brother Sorrowful replied, "If a tiger decides to cross a thorny bush, it won’t retreat, even if it’s torn to shreds."

He glanced at Remedios, who wasn’t far away on the stage. "Even if it’s just to catch the scent of a flower that might never be his."

’Baron got it. A simple translation of that emo monologue was: ’Sorry, the girl I have a crush on is watching, so I have to win.’’

Baron grinned. ’Isn’t this just like those posers from my past life? The kind who’d trip their own friends the moment a cute girl walked by just to look cool.’

’So dramatic. Are all Faith Knights either the Honest type like Victor or the Sorrowful type like this guy? It really shatters the mystique.’

As he had these thoughts, his body became completely covered in Blood Patterns.

Burning Blood activated. His Spiritual Power began to burn.

Seeing this, Zhan Jiale only grew more excited. As his Secret Silver Heart pounded violently, a cross-shaped Branding mark materialized on his ornate chestplate. From a distance, it looked like a scar left on his Armor from a Demon Beast’s attack.

He lifted his spear and pricked his index finger with the tip. An unidentifiable silver liquid dripped from his finger, evaporating without a trace the moment it hit the ground.

At the same time, the blood-red tendrils twisting across the spear’s shaft like lightning through clouds gradually coalesced into a line of text:

[Blessed are the humble.]

Zhan Jiale said, "This is the Virtue, [Humility], possessed by Black Iron Tier Faith Knights."

"Its Authority generates a cross-shaped Branding on my chestplate, forcing the first attack from any enemy within a five-meter radius to target me. My Secret Silver Heart activates, and all damage is absorbed by the Silver Blood dripping from my index finger.

Once the Silver Blood has finished dripping, the enhancement ends.

The price is that I will remain in a state of humility for one hour after its use."

Noticing Baron’s astonished expression, Zhan Jiale added, "The reason I’m telling you all this is because of my second Virtue: [Honesty]."

"If I am honest with my opponent, I can obtain information about the Authority they are using..."

Zhan Jiale didn’t notice that as soon as he spoke, Baron’s gaze hardened.

’His Blood Patterns weren’t Alchemy Circuits. It would be bad enough if his identity as a Blood Faction Demon Hunter was discovered, but if his status as a Dragon Knight was also exposed... in a chaotic place like Prole, he couldn’t be sure what fate would await him.’

But Zhan Jiale’s next words allowed him to breathe a small sigh of relief.

"Conversely, if I choose not to obtain information about your Authority, I can instead use that to enhance the effects of my own."

Zhan Jiale said, "Right now, with this enhancement, my base physical strength should be on par with Gawain’s so-called Dragonification."

"Since you were able to defeat Gawain, then try defeating me in my state of Humility."

"Come. Let us fight until the final Chapter."

’Unlike the Honest one, this Brother Sorrowful also has a bad case of eighth-grader syndrome.’

The thought barely had time to cross his mind before Baron was in motion. In the next instant, he appeared beside Zhan Jiale, bringing his blade crashing down!

Someone had once posed a question: what happens when two high-speed Iron Dragons collide?

Now, everyone present had their answer.

First came a tremendous CRASH, followed by a shower of burning shrapnel.

Though they hadn’t actually witnessed two Iron Dragons colliding, the scene on the stage was surely just as intense—sparks raining down like fire, and a sound like rolling thunder.

The explosive clang of blade on spear sent a shockwave through the audience, their ears ringing. A blinding flurry of sparks filled the arena as the two weapons crossed again and again.

It was impossible to tell one from the other.

Even the Demon Hunters using [Hunter’s Eye] could barely follow the action, straining their vision to its limits.

They could only judge the ferocity of the battle by the spray of sparks and the drops of Silver Blood that sizzled and evaporated upon hitting the ground.

"Bronze," said Stephen, the Silver Demon Hunter. "L and this Faith Knight... their Spiritual Power quality has reached the Bronze Tier."

Yalilan froze.

L didn’t look that old; he seemed to be in his early twenties at most.

A Bronze Demon Hunter that young would be considered one of the most outstanding talents in any duchy.

Just then, the sonic booms on the stage abruptly ceased.

The fight between the Demon Hunter and the Knight had stopped.

Two figures stood revealed in the sunlight.

Both were in a wretched state.

The Demon Hunter’s black clothes were shredded, and the Knight’s Armor was cracked. Both were covered in so much blood it was impossible to tell whose was whose.

Baron spat out a mouthful of blood. As the Blood Patterns on his body receded, he glanced at the scabbed-over tip of the Knight’s finger.

"Your Silver Blood has run dry," he said.

Zhan Jiale planted the tip of his spear on the ground to support his swaying body.

"But the fire in my heart has not," he replied.

Baron: "..."

’Seriously, are all Faith Knights this crazy?’

He didn’t say it out loud, because after uttering one last phrase—"A flower only wilts because someone comes to pick it"—Zhan Jiale collapsed.

The entire arena fell silent.