"Shut up! I... Adric of Carriras accepts your conditions and officially challenges you to a knight's duel!" Adric abruptly raised his hand and shouted loudly.
Immediately after, he also instructed his servant to place a money pouch on the herald's table, and he glared viciously at Karl, as if harboring deep hatred towards him.
In truth, from beginning to end, he had instigated this matter himself, and it had nothing to do with Karl.
He had no reason to mock Karl, and Karl wouldn't have responded to his sarcasm.
But now, with both reputation and money on the line, and since he himself initiated the challenge, Karl had to fight.
His arrogance and pride would not allow him to withdraw the request, reconsider, and call off the knight's duel in public.
Even when Karl proposed insulting conditions, he gritted his teeth and agreed.
Because he believed the young man on the other side was not very old, and his swordsmanship was inferior to his own.
He thought his chances of victory were high, and the money and reputation would be his.
Meanwhile, Triss sat quietly at her table in her house within the commercial district.
She stared blankly at the reflection in the basin, twirling her hair with her fingertips.
"His name is Karl... Has he left Vizima?"
"I asked someone to inquire about the name in Vizima; no one mentioned him."
"Why not use a water scrying to see what he's doing? But spying isn't very nice... Well, I'll just take a quick look."
Triss muttered to herself, as if convincing herself, and her eyes gradually regained their luster.
Blue magic appeared in her palm, and she gently passed it over the water basin placed on the table.
Then she recited an incantation in a low voice in the ancient language, visualizing in her mind what she wanted to reveal.
Soon, the water in the basin stirred, hummed, and emitted light.
In the water appeared an image of a recent incident, a conversation between her and Keira.
Decision-making with court ministers and others, and an image of Foltest entrusting them to secretly search for traces of a Witcher.
Seeing that the image she wanted to see hadn't appeared for a while, Triss frowned and began to focus, recalling the events in her mind.
After a while, the image in the water stopped flickering, and the scene from yesterday when she met Karl in the herbalist's shop appeared.
Immediately after, the scene quickly shifted, leaving only Karl alone.
His clothing changed, the surrounding scenery gradually transformed, and many figures appeared.
"Huh? Karl is in full plate armor? Only knights who have been knighted can be granted and hold a title."
"Hmm, it seems he's hiding quite a bit. I guessed he was a merchant's son."
Triss's eyebrows arched, her pale blue eyes sparkled, and a slight smile appeared on her face.
Clearly, discovering what Karl was hiding aroused her interest.
Then the smile on Triss's face gradually faded, her brows relaxed, and she showed a puzzled expression.
"It seems they've encountered each other? That bearded man seems to be a knight funded by Keira?"
"Will Karl be able to handle it? Or... should I go to the scene to help him?"
"But I wasn't at the scene, yet I knew what happened. Would he guess that I was spying on... later?"
"Hmm... Triss, what are you thinking?! Your relationship with him is nothing more than strangers who met once."
Creak. Just as Triss was feeling conflicted, there was a light push at the door, accompanied by quickly approaching footsteps.
"Triss, are you casting a spell? Can you come shopping with me to relieve the boredom?"
"Someone sent me a harassing letter today. It really upset me." Keira said softly, walking barefoot behind Triss.
"Huh? No problem, I'll do that."
Triss quickly dispelled the water scrying, brushed off the non-existent dust on her body, and stood up.
Keira rested her hands on her hips and looked at the water basin placed on the table, noticing that the figure in the basin was gradually disappearing.
She rolled her eyes and saw that Triss was pretending to be calm, but a flicker of panic crossed her face.
"Hmm, it seems I've caught someone using water scrying to divine something related to themselves, wanting to find out."
"Keira, I was using water divination, but it's not what you think." Triss's cheeks flushed slightly, and she explained softly.
"Hey, I haven't asked anything yet, and someone is rushing to explain." Keira looked teasing and said with a smile.
Triss snorted softly, glanced at Keira, then said nothing more, turned around, and descended the stairs to the side.
"Wait, Triss, I'm joking. Are you angry?"
Keira was startled by this and hurried to catch up with Triss.
...
In the square of the commercial district, in the center of the open space, watched by many merchants and pedestrians,
two figures in full plate armor shone with a cold silver light under the sun, and the herald, acting as the temporary referee, stood between them.
"Ready, the duel begins!" The herald gave the order, then quickly stepped back a few paces to avoid accidental injury.
Karl and Adric stood ten paces apart, and the heavy armor did not slow their stance at all.
Two long swords, specially designed for breaking armor, with side edges and sharp fronts, were drawn.
As soon as the herald's signal to start the duel sounded, Adric, standing opposite Karl, shouted and charged first, thrusting the tip of his sword straight forward, beginning in a standard bull-like style.
Under his helmet, Adric even showed a smug expression.
He thought he was acting so fast that the other party must not have had time to react.
In his opinion, the young man looked so immature that he probably hadn't undergone rigorous swordsmanship training.
However, everything did not happen as he expected.
Karl merely turned slightly to the side, his wrist trembling slightly, and accurately struck with the flat of his sword.
A tremendous force instantly transmitted through the sword's body, causing Adric to stumble.
At that moment, Adric's face twitched inside his helmet, and the hands under his plate armor were already numb, barely able to hold the sword.
No matter how arrogant he was, he knew he had kicked an iron plate.
But now he had no choice but to accept it.
And Karl didn't wait for him to make any adjustments; his figure moved. He wasn't like a man covered in steel, but rather like a gust of wind gliding across the ground.
He took two steps forward in an instant, and the sword's body traced a silver arc, but not a slash.
Instead, he used the flat of the blade to strike Adric's helmet horizontally.
BANG! The dull sound was like ringing a low-quality bronze bell.
Adric was clearly stunned by Karl's heaviest blow, his steps retreating backward, and a suffocating buzz echoed inside his helmet.
Karl didn't give Adric a chance to catch his breath and followed him like a shadow.