Morning arrived beneath gray skies.
The cold air of Wilhelm Kingdom carried the sound of marching soldiers and distant steel clashing against steel from the palace training grounds.
John slowly opened his eyes.
For a few moments, he simply stared at the ceiling above him.
Then-
Memories flashed through his mind.
The execution platform.
Chains around his wrists.
The cold faces watching his death.
John immediately sat upright and took a slow breath.
“…Not now.”
He pushed the memories away before standing from the bed.
After preparing himself, he quietly left the room and walked through the palace corridors toward the arena grounds.
By the time he arrived, dozens of knights had already gathered there.
The massive training arena stood at the center of the palace courtyard surrounded by stone walls and elevated viewing platforms.
Wilhelm soldiers filled nearly every seat while nobles observed from above beneath black banners carrying the silver wolf emblem.
Nick and Sir Carol were already waiting near the entrance.
Nick immediately walked toward him.
“You actually slept?” he asked.
“A little.”
Sir Carol carefully observed John’s expression.
“You still have time to reconsider.”
John calmly shook his head.
“I’ll fight.”
Sir Carol sighed quietly but said nothing further.
At the opposite side of the arena, Rudolf finally appeared.
Unlike John, Rudolf entered confidently wearing heavy silver armor engraved with wolf symbols.
A massive longsword rested over his shoulder while several Wilhelm knights loudly cheered his arrival.
“Rudolf!”
“Crush him!”
Rudolf smirked proudly before his gaze landed on John.
“So you actually came.”
John answered calmly.
“I said I would.”
The two slowly entered the center of the arena while the crowd watched carefully.
Above them, King Magnus sat upon the royal platform beside General Viktor.
Viktor crossed his arms while observing John closely.
“He’s calmer than yesterday,” he muttered.
King Magnus narrowed his eyes slightly.
“Yes…”
Something about John felt strange.
Not fearful.
Not arrogant.
Simply…
controlled.
A palace knight stepped between the two fighters. The source of this chapter is novelping.com.
“This duel ends upon surrender or incapacitation. Killing is forbidden.”
Rudolf laughed lightly.
“Don’t worry. I’ll leave him alive.”
Several Wilhelm knights laughed alongside him.
But John remained completely silent.
The referee stepped back.
For a brief moment-
The entire arena became quiet.
Then-
“Begin!”
Rudolf immediately charged forward with surprising speed despite his heavy armor.
His sword cut through the air violently toward John’s shoulder.
CLANG!
CLANG!
Each strike carried enough force to break bone, yet somehow John continued avoiding fatal damage with the smallest movements possible.
To the crowd, it looked as though he was barely surviving.
But to the truly skilled observers-
Something felt wrong.
Above the arena, General Viktor narrowed his eyes carefully.
“He’s doing it again.”
King Magnus remained silent while watching John’s footwork.
Every dodge.
Every block.
Every step backward.
Nothing was wasted.
“He’s not fighting desperately,” Viktor muttered quietly.
“He’s controlling the rhythm.”
King Magnus slowly leaned forward on his throne.
“And he’s hiding his real strength.”
Meanwhile, Rudolf’s frustration kept growing.
“You coward!” he shouted angrily while attacking again.
“Stop running and fight properly!”
John calmly deflected another strike.
The truth was simple-
Rudolf’s attacks were becoming easier to read.
In his previous life, John had fought men far more dangerous than this arrogant knight.
Compared to real battlefield veterans, Rudolf lacked patience.
And impatience created openings.
Nick watched silently from outside the arena.
At first, he believed John was barely holding on.
But now…
Even he started noticing something strange.
John wasn’t panicking.
Not once.
His breathing remained steady. The source of this chapter is g.com.
His eyes remained calm.
Almost like he had already seen every attack before it happened.
Inside the arena, Rudolf finally lost control of his emotions.
With an angry roar, he rushed forward carelessly and swung his sword downward with full force.
That single reckless movement-
Was exactly what John had been waiting for.
The moment Rudolf’s balance shifted forward-
John moved.
For the first time since the duel began, his body exploded forward instead of backward.
Gasps echoed across the arena.
Too fast.
Rudolf’s eyes widened in shock.
Before he could recover, John twisted his sword sharply against Rudolf’s blade at the perfect angle.
CLANG!
A powerful counterattack shot through Rudolf’s weapon.
The massive sword flew out of his hands and spun high into the sky before crashing into the arena ground several meters away.
Silence.
Complete silence filled the arena.
Rudolf stood frozen in disbelief.
John’s blade stopped directly at his throat.
The duel was over.
Even Rudolf himself could not understand what had just happened.
Above the arena, General Viktor slowly smiled.
“So that’s his true skill.”
King Magnus stared at John with sharp interest.
“No…” the king murmured quietly.
“He’s still holding back.”
The surrounding Wilhelm knights began whispering among themselves.
“That counter…”
“I barely even saw it…”
“How did he disarm Rudolf in one move?”
Nick himself looked stunned.
For a brief second during that counterattack-
John had looked like a completely different person.
Not a young knight.
Not even a talented fighter.
But a warrior who had survived countless real battles.
Inside the arena, Rudolf clenched his fists in humilia tion while staring at the sword pointed toward his neck.
John calmly stepped back before lowering his weapon.
“I believe the duel is finished.”
Rudolf’s face burned with anger and disbelief.
Yet he could not deny reality.
He had lost.