The First Magic World War

Two young men brandished their rapiers, constantly probing each other; merely judging by their postures, they were indeed graceful and generous.

Having glanced at them, Charlotte immediately lost interest and said in a low voice, "Such mediocrity, you could take on eight of them by yourself."

Julian replied quietly, "Eighty wouldn't be a problem, either."

Both Charlotte and Julian were swordsmanship experts, their foundational skills derived from the Asiluo Clan's Angel's Twelve Chapters. Charlotte had already mastered up to the eighth chapter: Twilight Dirge, combined with the foundation of Quickness Technique and Spirit Spider Technique, slightly surpassing in swordsmanship skill. Julian, a Mid-Level Transcendent with more formidable Stellar Battle Qi cultivation, had crossed swords with Charlotte without a clear victor, but neither Charlotte nor Julian thought highly of the two show-offs in the duel.

Although the two dueling were Transcendents, their swordsmanship was quite ordinary, with only their postures passing as standard, revealing too many flaws.

Having encountered Lower-Ranked Supernaturals on the battlefield, Charlotte had grown accustomed to dispatching them with a single strike, as was the case in the skirmish at Mostar Fortress, where he rescued Anatasiya, slaying two Transcendents in swift succession—one look and they were down. However, he considered the two Duelists before him even less impressive than those he had killed.

Looking around, Charlotte saw people cheering for the duelists and placing bets, adding to his growing disdain for the nobles.

As the "object of the duel," Miss Veronica, blushing with both shyness and pride, clearly found it flattering to have two Transcendent young men duel over her.

A single glance was enough for Charlotte to know this girl wasn't to his taste, especially when compared to Anne or, like a common Inglima hen next to the likes of Menilman...
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He felt he was insulting Anne just by thinking so.

As Charlotte was about to leave, a cry of surprise rang out—the outcome of the duel had been decided, not by superior swordsmanship, but because Jeremy Reyna tripped over his own feet and fell while moving swiftly.

Charlotte, having been on the battlefield several times and dueled often, was no novice at swordplay. He could clearly see that Mr. Jeremy Reyna seemed to have fallen intentionally.

The crowd, disappointed, grumbled incessantly, while the victorious Elian Wood left with the lady on his arm, Veronica offering an apologetic glance to the loser before following the winner away.

Charlotte found the whole affair unbearably vulgar. As the onlookers dispersed too vigorously, he turned around to find Julian missing.

Somewhat surprised, Charlotte knew that Julian, a Mid-Level Transcendent, couldn't have been swept away by the crowd; he must have left on his own. Only something significant could have made Julian abandon him.

It was then that Charlotte remembered: he was a diplomat and Julian, a spy. Their relationship wasn't one of comradeship but merely that of casual friends with some personal affinity.

Having eaten and drunk his fill, and not knowing anyone at the ball, Charlotte found a secluded corner and took a seat on a bench, looking out at the bustling dance with a distant gaze.

In fact, before he transmigrated, he used to enjoy finding a scenic spot to sit quietly and watch people come and go. But in the city, there was no such scenery; all he could see was the unique fatigue of the city, everyone toiling like ants, not for themselves but adding profit to some colossal entity.

Charlotte's mind wandered freely until he heard a gentle voice asking, "Are you a Transcendent? It doesn't have to be of a high level, just a modest mastery of swordsmanship will do."

Charlotte looked up to see a young girl in a blue court dress, whose appearance could only be described as unexceptional at best. He nodded and replied, "I am a Transcendent. My swordsmanship is decent, passable, I guess."

The girl showed a hint of excitement and lowered her voice, "I'm of age, yet no man has ever dueled for me. So I arranged one myself, paying for it, but one gentleman fell ill, missing the duel. If nobody duels for me at tonight's ball, my life would be dimmed. Could I persuade you to duel for me, just once?"

"I'm willing to pay two Gold Pounds."

Charles had never heard such an absurd request and asked, "Aren't you afraid of being exposed by doing this?"

The girl dressed in a blue court gown snickered and said, "Everyone does it. Mr. Jeremy Reyna and Mr. Elian Wood who just dueled also took Ms. Veronica's Gold Pounds."

Charles was shocked and thought to himself, "Do the nobles of the Inglima Empire all play such boring games? What's the point of such a duel?"

Seeing him still hesitant, the girl whispered, "If you're afraid of getting hurt, you can arrange with the opponent to throw the fight at a certain move, and if you're willing to give up five Shillings, you can even get the opponent to admit defeat."

Charles hurriedly said, "Sorry, I don't fight for others." He firmly declined the offer.

This was a place where the elite of various countries gathered, including many from Brittany. If word of this mess got back to Strasbourg, and Anne Brittany found out that he was dueling in Notruden for another girl, it would truly be a case of a minor mistake leading to a major disaster.

Hmm, Charles confirmed once again, the signs that this girl in the blue court gown was of age were indeed not strong.

The girl dressed in the blue court gown was very disappointed. After attempting to persuade him a few more times and being rejected yet again by Charles, she could only leave helplessly.

However, it wasn't long before he heard someone shouting, "Mr. Rahu and Mr. Xanibal are dueling for Miss Charlotte..."

Charles finally realized that these luxurious nobility balls had quite a few additional entertainments. Many noble girls seemed to enjoy creating their own dramas.

After a while, someone shouted about the third duel happening.

Charles had completely lost interest in it. Failing to find Julian, he decided to look for the Augusladin High Priest. He still needed to consult his superior about how to proceed with his work.

Just then, he heard someone announcing that a certain Mr. and another Mr. were dueling for Miss Sumei, which surprised Charles. His first reaction was: Did Menilman's senior sister come to the Inglima Empire?

His second reaction was: I have to go and see.

With a nimble leap, he used the Quickness Technique and Spirit Spider Technique, playing a round of "wall-walking" in the Champagne Palace. In just a matter of seconds, he arrived at the site of the duel, where a crowd of young nobles had already formed a circle.

Finding it impossible to push through the crowd, Charles simply leapt up forcefully, jumping towards the dueling arena.

Mid-air, two Rapiers lunged towards his chest and left ribcage.

Charles pushed back with his hands, striking one person's elbow and causing their Rapier to clash with the other's Longsword, causing both blades to recoil from each other.

Having dueled many times on the battlefield, Charles instinctively kicked out twice...