Chapter 498 – Skewered.

“Did you see that? What happened?”

“I don’t know… Did his enchantment malfunction or did he not activate it correctly?”

A few merchants murmured among themselves as they saw Gerhard flung to the side. His chest plate had been dented by a strike from a large sword, but the mithril armor held firm. The onlookers noticed his confidence when attacking; his swing was wide and forceful, leaving him open for his opponent’s devastating blow. Although the armor remained intact, the impact sent him rolling for tens of meters, ending with a collision against the arena wall.

The audience erupted in a mix of murmurs and gasps, trying to make sense of what they’d just witnessed. The other knights, seated in the stands, exchanged uneasy glances. It was becoming clear that this duel was not following the rules of conventional combat, at least not for Sir Gerhard.

Up in the stands, Count Graham’s face twisted with a mix of rage and disbelief. His knuckles turned white as he gripped the arms of his chair, eyes burning holes into the two combatants. The plan had been for Gerhard to win decisively and no one had expected Robert, a mere Tier 2 knight in a strange new armor, to stand a chance against a seasoned Tier 3 warrior like Gerhard. But the tide of the battle had shifted, and one person in the audience knew why.

Roland allowed himself a small smile, though it went unnoticed due to his helmet. Everything was unfolding just as he had calculated. The rune system he had designed wasn’t just for protection and power, it included specialized enchantments like the rune inhibitor, which could disrupt or nullify certain magical energies within a set range. Gerhard had unwittingly walked right into his trap.

His skill at dispelling enemy enchantments was quite extensive, but creating a device to mimic it wasn’t easy. There were limitations, and only thanks to his thorough espionage before the arena fight was he able to succeed. Roland knew exactly what type of armor Robert’s opponent would be wearing and the magics it relied on. The combatants from the other side were restricted from using overly powerful magical equipment, a fact Roland cleverly exploited. It was one thing to develop a smart system that could target enchantments during combat, but quite another if he knew in advance what to target.

Gerhard possessed a full set of mithril armor with only basic shielding enchantments. His weapons were similar: his sword carried a limited lightning discharge spell that wasn’t quite of the highest tier, and his mace had an enhanced impact rune that was more of a pseudo-tier 3 enchantment. Roland had advised Robert to defend himself during the first half of the duel, frustrating his opponent with his defensive stance. Then, once his foe grew reckless, he would activate the enchantment inhibition system and use the confusion to launch a counterattack.

“Get up!”

Count Graham’s voice erupted from his seat on the balcony, his facade beginning to show cracks. The calm and composed demeanor he was known for was crumbling before his peers. The mask of nobility and refinement was quickly slipping away as his champion, Sir Gerhard, struggled to recover from the shocking turn of events.

Gerhard, on the other hand, was still reeling. His pride, as much as his body, had taken a severe blow. Slowly, he pulled himself to his feet, clutching his dented chest plate. His breathing was ragged, and his eyes darted between Robert and the arena wall he’d collided with moments before. For the first time since the duel began, doubt crept into his mind. His enchanted mace, the tool he thought would easily break through Robert’s defenses, had been rendered useless. Worse, the crowd’s murmurs and the look of confusion in his fellow knights’ eyes sent a wave of humiliation through him.

His opponent was already charging toward him, and after taking the hit, he had lost his grip on one of his weapons. Now, he was left with only the mace, which had failed to activate its impact rune. However, for some reason, the enchantment on it was quickly springing back to life, offering a glimmer of hope that it might work if he tried again. His grip tightened around the handle, the enchanted glow flickering back into existence.

“You think this is over, boy?!”

Gerhard growled through clenched teeth, his voice dripping with venom.

“I’ve faced better warriors than you and never lost! I will not be defeated by a whelp!”

Robert didn’t respond, instead he focused on the graphical display that continued feeding him data about Gerhard’s movements. His confidence was solidifying, and he began to believe he could win against someone of a higher tier. His trust in his brother had been strong from the start, but even he hadn’t anticipated his brother’s genius. The tide of battle was turning in his favor, and he needed to seize the moment that had presented itself.

“This whelp is already grown!”

Roland watched the exchange between the two with bated breath. While the plan had worked and his brother was now able to attack, the battle had not been won. He had already managed to analyze Gerhard’s capabilities and the power armor only leveled the playing field. The two were about equal to each other and the enchantment inhibitor couldn’t be used too much as it would drain the armor’s batteries. However, his brother wasn’t only his armor, he was a man that had honed his skills in battles against other nations while the man he was facing was more of a career knight.

The “Noble Blade” class Robert was using focused on two-handed swordplay. Although his skills were lacking compared to the Tier 3 knight, momentum was on his side. Roland watched as his brother discarded his tower shield and gripped the large blade, its hilt extending to accommodate his now larger hands as he lunged forward. His steps sounded mechanical, the ground sinking slightly under the weight of his power armor. Finally, the two collided in a furious exchange of blows.

Gerhard’s mace came crashing down, its enchantment glowing brightly once again, but Robert was prepared. With the heavy, two-handed mithril sword in his grip, he met the attack head-on. The impact shook the ground, sending a reverberating clang throughout the arena. Robert’s armor held firm, absorbing the brunt of the strike, but the sheer force of Gerhard’s blow caused sparks to fly from the contact point.

“You’re nothing without that armor!”

Gerhard spat, his voice desperate now as the audience watched in stunned silence. His confidence had waned, but his fury had not. He lashed out again, his strikes fast and brutal, but Robert’s system continued feeding him crucial data, helping him predict and deflect the attacks with his massive sword. Eventually, allowing him to get used to his opponent’s form, parry and land blows of his own.

The blade he held was imbued with several enchantments, all specifically designed to counter his opponent. Even when the enchanted mace regained its magical power, the magic could be absorbed by the runic enhancements on the sword. Within his display, Robert could choose between several modes: offensive, defensive, and all-rounder. By focusing his gaze on a particular part of the display, he could switch modes after a brief moment. Once the blade was set to offensive mode, its attacks became lighter and more powerful as they neared their target.

Robert grunted as Gerhard’s mace met his blade with a violent clang, but instead of flinching, he pushed back with all his might. His power armor’s joints whined in protest, but the runic power armor did its work, boosting his strength far beyond what Gerhard could have anticipated. For a brief moment, their weapons locked, the clashing energies between them sending ripples of mana through the arena’s air.

“You think this armor is all I have?”

Gerhard sneered at the comment, to him he was fighting against the magical contraption and not really the man inside who was nothing more than an inexperienced fighter. Even now he was not taking him seriously and that would be his downfall. He tried twisting his mace in an attempt to get free but his opponent was faster. Using the momentum from the clash, he twisted his body and pulled his blade away, forcing Gerhard to stumble forward slightly.

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With a quick pivot, Robert struck. His mithril sword moved with shocking speed for something so large and heavy, arcing through the air and slamming against Gerhard’s exposed side once more. The sound of metal hitting metal echoed once again, but this time Gerhard couldn’t hide the grunt of pain. His armor had already been damaged and now the enchantment was also no more. He felt a metallic taste in his mouth as blood started to spill out from within his helmet.

The audience watched in awe as the once-cocky knight staggered backward, his mace dipping low. The enchanted armor’s runes started dimming as the traces between them had been cut. From his seat, Count Graham’s expression shifted from barely controlled fury to outright panic. He could see it now that Gerhard was losing. His carefully prepared plan of wining quickly and showing off was unraveling before his eyes.

“What is he doing?! He can’t lose to him! Not here, not now!”