The First Magic World War

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Aurora Sumei forgot Charles with just a glance, feeling that this young man was simply too clever. She had only mentioned the matter of the alliance, and he had guessed that she needed help.

"Does Menilman really have that kind of charm?"

"Even an insignificant admirer is proficient in both letters and arms, not only excelling in swordsmanship but also so clear-headed?"

She said in a low voice, "I hope you can fight a public duel for me."

Charles was slightly surprised and asked, "Aurora, do you still need to find someone to help you duel?"

Aurora Sumei's face turned slightly red as she protested softly, "Not every Sumei is called Menilman."

Charles almost wanted to add that there were indeed many men who dueled for Taoles, but the little common sense he had left made him swallow those words.

If he had spoken out, Miss Aurora Sumei would certainly have turned against him on the spot. It was bad enough not to compare to Menilman, but worse still to not match up to Taoles, which would have been a real stab to the heart.

Aurora calmed her surging emotions and said, "Because the subject of your duel is the son of Count Ranmalock, a Mid-Level Transcendent Knight, I can't find anyone else."

Charles said indifferently, "As long as it's not Count Ranmalock himself, I probably won't have any issues. However, such duels usually have some pretext and consequences, right? What's the whole story behind this?"

It wasn't long ago that Charles had advanced to an Eighth Order Transcendent. Although he was only Mid-Level, he did not fear any Mid-Level Transcendents, even if the opponent were at the twelfth rank. After all, he had even fought and killed one or two High-Level Transcendents...

Hmm, he couldn't remember how many he had killed.

But he was very curious about the origins of this incident.

If the son of Count Ranmalock challenged a gentleman to a duel, indeed it would be hard to back down, but Aurora Sumei was a woman. No gentleman would challenge a lady to a duel, and Charles always felt something was off about this affair.

When Aurora heard that Charles didn't care about the object of the duel, she breathed a sigh of relief and explained, "Ban is my classmate, both in the National Academy and university. I don't know what got into his head, he's been especially hostile towards every male around me."

"In any case, a few months ago, we had another conflict. He said that if I could find someone to defeat him publicly within a year, he would stop pestering me. If I couldn't find anyone, I would have to... never marry."

"He's simply a madman."

Charles was also astounded and thought to himself, "This must be some kind of adamantium straight male, steel virgin, right?"

"He clearly shows that he likes Aurora, could have simply suggested dating her, although in a domineering way, it would at least show normal intelligence! But forcing a girl to remain unmarried for life? What sort of nonsense is that? Was his brain kicked by a magic spirit donkey?"

Charles had received such a large "gift" from Aurora and, if he could leave his name on the alliance between the Inglima Empire and the Fars Empire, his future would surely be limitless, he might even become immortalized in history because of this alliance. Offering her a little help was naturally the right thing to do.

When Aurora talked about Ban Lanmalock, her bosom heaved with evident emotional turmoil; it took a good while for her to calm down before she asked again, "What weapon do you need? Ban is very skilled with a lance."

Charles said, "I excel with a handgun!"

Aurora, startled, touched the tips of her two index fingers together and pulled back an arm's length away; she thought using a handgun against a lance was madness, the disadvantage in weapons was too great.

Charles hooked his finger and made a slight motion, and Aurora realized he was not speaking of the melee weapon, but of marksmanship. She shook her head and said, "You can't use Magic-Breaking Bombshell Bullets in a duel, this is not a fight to the death. You can't really kill the son of Count Ranmalock, ordinary bullets can't go through the defense, Ban's Frost Dragon Fighting Qi is famously strong."

Charles hadn't really thought about this. The duel with Ban was clearly not a matter of blood vengeance and wouldn't allow a fight to the death; the shortcomings of firearms were blatantly exposed at this point, lacking enough lethality at the Transcendent level.

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Charles pondered for a moment and said, "Then I'm also proficient in swordsmanship."

After all, most of Charles's victories in battle were achieved with the help of three Extraordinary Firearms, and aside from that, he truly only excelled at swordsmanship.

Aurora sighed and said, "You should practice your gunmanship more. Rapiers are too short, and they are at a disadvantage against a Knight's Spear."

Charles nodded. He had learnt this the hard way.

After dueling Cyrus hundreds of times in the Dreamscape, he had been bested countless times by Cyrus's Black Knight's Lance. Charles had basically experienced all the disadvantages a rapier had against a Knight's Spear.

Cyrus was a bona fide master of gunmanship, and purely in terms of skill with a lance, Charles had never encountered anyone more adept than him. Continue reading at My Virtual Library Empire

Aurora said, "I can get you a Knight's Spear, and I can also procure for you a Magic Stabbing Sword, but such duels require fairness, and there's not much more I can do."

"What kind of weapon do you need? I mean, between these two weapons, what attribute do you most require?"

Charles was surprised and asked, "I can choose the attribute?"

"Why couldn't you?" Aurora retorted.

Although Charles owned several Extraordinary Weapons, he basically used whatever he came across, without a clear plan. The Extraordinary Weapons he did have just happened to suit him.

Aurora's words once again made him realize the difference in class.

He pondered for a moment, then said, "I practice Bloody Glory!"

"If there are any bloodsucking weapons, get me two. By the way, I won't be returning them after the duel!"

Aurora gave him an exasperated look and said, "I'm not that petty."

When it came down to discussing serious matters, it was often a brief exchange. The two reached an agreement, and Aurora took her leave, but not before she arranged another shopping trip with Taoles, Anatasiya, and Belisa.

After Aurora left, Taoles asked, "What exactly did my cousin want from you?"

Charles shrugged and said, "It's an Inglima Empire tradition; she wants to hire me for a substantial sum to duel with another suitor."

Surprised, Taoles asked, "You didn't agree, did you?"

Charles replied, "If the price is right, why wouldn't I agree?"

Taoles then asked, "Do you know who my cousin's suitor is? Ban Lanmalock?"

"Of course I know," Charles answered. "What does it matter? It's not Count Ranmalock himself."

"He's just a Mid-Level Transcendent after all!"

Taoles glanced at Anatasiya and Belisa, both of whom wore expressions of disbelief, as if they had just seen someone challenge an Ancient Dragon.

Only then did Charles sense something might be amiss, and he asked, "Is there something special about this Ban Lanmalock?"