High Silvermere seemed even livelier inside the city. People came and went along the streets, and carts and horses flowed past without end.
Bicycles, newspapers, for a moment, Luke almost thought he was walking down a road in the capital.
Right now, he sat on his horse, speechlessly covering the bite mark on his arm. A certain little blonde had truly cast aside every bit of image she had, insisting on showing him a little color.
Beside him, Lux rode on horseback with her chin lifted proudly, her face full of This is what you get.
"Candy apples! Sweet and pretty candy apples!"
On the street, a vendor walked past shouting his wares. On the wooden pole in his hand were candy apples one after another, bright red and temptingly glossy.
When Lux saw them, her eyes lit up, and she sped up on horseback.
Before long, she returned with a large handful of candy apples.
She looked at Luke and snorted coldly, then stretched out her little hand and handed him one. "Here."
After Luke took it, she also gave one to Sona, Poppy, Yurna, Katarina, and the others following behind.
As for herself, she happily held three and ate them with great enjoyment.
The group continued forward while eating candy apples. Then came the sound of bicycle wheels turning, accompanied by the crisp ringing of bells, followed by the newspaper boy's calls.
"Newspapers! Newspapers! Sword Hall rankings updated!"
"Fiora Laurent is currently ranked sixth! Today, she challenges the fifth-ranked Yuge Solo!"
"A duel between a rising star of the sword arena and a veteran swordsman is about to begin!"
The shouting drew the group's attention.
Lux turned back. "Miss Duelist seems to have a duel soon."
Luke nodded slightly. "Let's go. We'll take a look at the Sword Hall."
The group quickly changed their route. Led by Lux, they headed all the way toward the Sword Hall.
Lux was still very familiar with High Silvermere. After all, it was the place where she had grown up, so naturally, she also knew where the Sword Hall was.
Half an hour later, the group had already arrived at the entrance of the Sword Hall.
The Sword Hall was no small building. At its entrance stood two enormous statues of sword-wielding knights. The blades in their hands crossed each other, symbolizing noble and fair duels.
There were many people here as well. Most of the crowd at the entrance was heading inside, and the sounds of discussion and chatter rang out continuously, even seeming a little noisy.
"Hurry, hurry."
"It's about to start!"
"Stop pushing, stop pushing! What's there to push for?"
The entrance was packed with people. Naturally, Luke and the others had no interest in squeezing through, so they used their privilege and entered through the VIP passage.
The corridor led directly to the high-end audience seats. The view was excellent, and it was not crowded.
At this moment, the duel inside the Sword Hall was already about to begin.
Both duelists had already stepped onto the arena.
Standing on the left was Yuge Solo, a descendant of House Solo, a swordsman who had already been famous for quite some time. He had held a place in the top five of the Sword Hall rankings for a while now.
He stood tall and straight, wearing a tight-fitting combat outfit. He looked extraordinarily confident, his expression composed and relaxed.
Dawnlight slanted into the hall through narrow pointed windows, leaving long, scattered streaks of light. The gray-white marble reflected the audience who had come to watch this duel. They sat along the stone steps on all four sides of the hall, while those without seats stood. Among them were also relatives and servants from both families.
Standing on the right side of the arena was Fiora. Her tall, upright figure undoubtedly displayed her excellent build.
She wore a silver-steel breastplate, and a long, slender blade rested in the sheath at her hip. A natural nobility surrounded her from head to toe. Just by standing there, she gave off an air of extreme elegance.
Her face was beautiful and cool. Several strands of crimson were hidden within her dark hair, and a few locks drifted before her forehead. Her eyes were indifferent and emotionless, with even a tiny hint of... irritation.
Yuge openly sized up her figure with an undisguised gaze before finally settling on her face. He had to admit, that face fit his tastes perfectly.
Or rather, countless men in High Silvermere probably held the same thought as he did.
Every man wanted to conquer a woman like Fiora, and at this moment, Yuge felt that he could do it.
"Lady, you don't seem to be in a very good mood."
He was the first to break the silence on the arena, the corner of his mouth lifting into a handsome smile.
"If you noticed that, then speak less."
Fiora's tone carried a coldness that warned strangers to stay away. Her eyes remained indifferent from beginning to end.
Yuge still smiled and said, "I've sent you invitations several times recently, yet today, it seems you were the one who took the initiative to invite me. After we finish fighting, would you do me the honor of accompanying me to the afternoon concert? Perhaps I can find a way to improve your mood."
Fiora raised an eyebrow and said coldly, "Self-awareness is a fine virtue. I hope you learn to possess it."
To be honest, she was currently in a rather bad mood, and that displeasure had even shown on her face.
Especially after seeing Yuge's self-important smile.
Her mood had already been poor, and now it was even worse.
The main reason she was in a bad mood was that a certain guy no longer even wrote letters to her, fully acting as if he had let himself loose.
How far was the capital from High Silvermere? A letter could arrive in less than a day. Recently, she had written him three letters, and not a single one had received a reply.
How long had it been already?
At least ten days!
This made Fiora burn with anger. It seemed that when she was not by his side, a certain guy increasingly stopped taking her seriously.
Then again, right now, he was probably too busy clinging to that blue-haired girl, or enjoying himself endlessly with that bed-warming maid. How could he possibly remember her?
At this moment, the coldness surrounding Fiora seemed to be felt even by the surrounding audience.
After being treated coldly twice in a row, Yuge naturally also noticed Fiora's displeasure. Proud and arrogant as he was, when had he ever been so ignored by a woman?
He gave a faint laugh. "You seem to be bringing your emotions into the upcoming battle. Being able to reach sixth place on the sword rankings so quickly is enough to prove your strength. However, I still want to say that the weight of the top five on the sword rankings is different. Trust me, after this, there will be many things you'll have to ask me for guidance on. If I win this duel, then do me the honor of going to the concert with me."
Fiora exhaled, put away her emotions, and raised her eyes to look at the man across from her. "You are not the first person to say such things to me. But what you share with them is that your outcome will be exactly the same."
At that moment, Fiora lifted her gaze and just happened to see a man on the second floor. She first froze for a moment. Then, a joy she herself could not control surged up within her.
"Don't speak so..."
Yuge was just preparing to continue saying something.
"Speak less." Fiora had already interrupted him, her tone gaining a trace of impatience. "If you're ready, then begin. I'm in a hurry."
She drew the sword at her waist. It was a medium-length slender blade, with a blue-steel body and white edge, polished bright and gleaming.
After being interrupted, Yuge also felt somewhat displeased, especially after seeing Fiora's disdainful gaze.
He felt as if the pride in his heart had been stepped under her foot.
Everyone had a temper, and after being met with coldness again and again, Yuge grew angry.
He felt it was necessary to let Fiora across from him experience exactly what the weight of the top five on the sword rankings meant.
He also had to let her know that when a man used a sword, it was different from when a woman used a sword.
Even now, he still held some contempt for Fiora in his heart, even though her battle record was impressive enough.
"Very well. I will take this duel seriously."
Yuge took a deep breath and drew his own sword as well, a long Demacian cavalry saber. It was a very common weapon, with high practicality.
Seeing that both of them had drawn their weapons, the surrounding audience seats instantly boiled over.
"It's finally starting!"
"Hurry, hurry! I can't wait anymore!"
"Who will win today's duel?"
"It has to be Fiora! She hasn't lost a single match so far. She's clearly aiming for first place on the sword rankings!"
In the boiling audience stands, most of the voices were cheering for Fiora.
It would not be an exaggeration to say that more than half of the people present at today's duel had come for her.
Ever since Fiora had first returned to High Silvermere and started issuing challenges, the voices around her had shifted step by step from doubt to admiration. Her number of supporters had also grown larger and larger.
With her gorgeous and elegant swordsmanship, she had conquered the eyes of every audience member.
One had to know that among the top thirty on the sword rankings, not a single swordsman had been female.
Until Fiora appeared, winning match after match and cutting her way into the top ten.
Now, this was the key battle for her to enter the top five.
On the arena.
Both sides of the duel had already completed the ceremony before the duel began. The audience seats also gradually quieted down, and the atmosphere began to grow tense.
"You said it yourself. A quick battle."
Yuge's expression became serious, and the aura around him changed. A wave of sword intent was released.
He decided not to hold back at all and quickly end this battle, letting this woman know the gap between her strength and his.
So he charged forward, his surging sword intent seeming as if it wanted to engulf Fiora.
However, in the very next second, an even more powerful sword intent seemed to strike back against him. Fiora had no intention of holding back either.
Before Peerless Sword Intent, Yuge's sword intent was like a fragile barrier, shattering the instant it was touched.
In the clash of sword intent, Yuge was almost instantly defeated. Because of that, he felt a shadow rise in his heart. The Peerless Sword Intent rushing straight toward him made every cell in his body begin to tremble.
Shock filled his eyes. He could hardly imagine that a woman could train her sword intent to such a level.
The current him was like an arrow already drawn on the bowstring, with no choice but to be released. His rushing steps did not stop, and Yuge forced himself to keep charging forward.
Fiora stood calmly in place and gently lifted the sword in her hand. White light flashed across the blade, shining onto Yuge's body and outlining multiple openings.
She turned sideways, dodging Yuge's thrust. Her blade moved, drawing a beautiful sword blossom through the air.
The exchange between the fifth and sixth ranked swordsmen could be described as fast as lightning. The people only saw sword blossoms crossing on the arena, along with Fiora's elegant and composed posture.
That posture entered everyone's eyes, bringing them a deep shock.
Only ten seconds had passed since the battle began.
As Fiora swung her sword in an elegant and precise arc, a spray of warm blood splashed across the marble.
Yuge fell to the ground, his eyes filled with panic as he clutched his neck. Only then did he discover that the wound was not deep. However, that spoke of his opponent's mercy. If she had wished it, that wound would have been fatal.
At that moment, Yuge felt deep fear in his heart. He looked up and saw only the back of the woman leaving, then heard her indifferent words.
"The weight of the top five on the sword rankings is nothing special."
Yuge opened his mouth, but no sound came out. He did not know what to say. He only knew that he had lost terribly.
Battles between swordsmen were basically quick battles. Even when both sides were evenly matched, victory and defeat could be decided through a single inadvertent opening.
Not to mention, this was a duel between the fifth and sixth ranked swordsmen.
The battle seemed to end the moment it began. After the dazzling swordsmanship passed, people only saw Yuge fallen on the arena, and Fiora leaving with calm composure.
In the next second, a burst of fanatical cheers erupted.
"Fiora won again!"
"Fifth place!"
"Miss Duelist is unbeatable!"
The battle had ended too quickly, and many people had not reacted to the process in between.
But that was not important. They only knew that Fiora had won again.
She had officially arrived at fifth place on the sword rankings, and ahead of her, only four swordsmen remained.
At this moment, everyone believed that Fiora surpassing those four swordsmen was only a matter of time.
Amid the cheers, Fiora's figure gradually disappeared.
In the blink of an eye, she had already appeared in the viewing hall on the second floor.
Lux greeted her with great excitement. "Miss Duelist, you were amazing! It ended with just a few swishes."
This girl was even more excited than Fiora, the one who had won the duel.
By comparison, Fiora's expression was calm and unruffled. Seeing her, she gave a soft laugh. "He was just too weak."
Lux said, "He was still fifth on the sword rankings, you know."
Was fifth on the sword rankings weak? Of course not. Among the many swordsmen of High Silvermere, he was already one of the strongest five.
That meant it was not that Yuge was too weak, but that Fiora was too strong.
Fiora looked at Lux and asked, "Why did you come to High Silvermere?"
"Because I'm going to Fossbarrow to pay respects to my ancestors, and we're passing through High Silvermere. Also, I wanted to come see you."
Lux gave a simple answer.
Fiora glanced sideways at Luke, ignored him, and continued chatting with Lux. "Is that so? How long do you plan to stay in High Silvermere?"
Lux said, "Probably only one day. We have to keep going tomorrow."
The group chatted, ignoring Luke the whole time. Or rather, giving him the cold shoulder.
He could clearly feel that Miss Duelist was doing it on purpose, but he could also guess why she was doing it.
As they chatted, they left the Sword Hall. Outside the Sword Hall, several carriages were parked. Some belonged to House Laurent, while others belonged to House Crownguard.
A middle-aged man stepped down from the House Crownguard carriage. It was Pieter, who had come after hearing the news.
"Father!"
When Lux saw him, she ran over with a face full of joy.
Luke also greeted him. "Uncle Pieter, long time no see."
"Long time no see." Pieter nodded at him. Now that he saw this boy again, he was no longer as displeased as he had been at the beginning.
This boy was quite good at catering to his preferences and would often send over some fine wine.
As time passed, after hearing that his precious darling daughter went to his place every day, Pieter was no longer as angry about it.
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