The First Magic World War

Taoles asked, "Do you know that Count Lanmalock excelled in martial arts and was promoted to the Sacred Order when he was young? Whether on the dueling ground or the battlefield, he has never tasted defeat and is reputed as the 'Victory Champagne Count.'

Charles answered, "Of course I do."

Taoles continued, "Do you also know that Count Lanmalock was once considered a genius on par with Zimmerman?"

Charles countered, "What does that have to do with his son?"

Taoles whispered, "Even the People of Fars know that Ban Lanmalock is just like Count Lanmalock in his younger days, and his talent is said to surpass his father's. He has defeated sixteen high-level Transcendents in the dueling grounds. It's not an overstatement to call him the strongest knight among the younger generation of the Inglima Empire."

"He also has a nickname—the youngest lion of Notruden."

Charles honestly did not know these things; the university only taught knowledge, not the affairs of the nobility, just as he also didn't know that the Su Mei Family of the Inglima Empire had been in charge of diplomacy for generations.

Charles had truly never heard of the deeds of Notruden's youngest lion.

Indeed, before his date with Anne, he didn't even know nobles of high birth such as Krel Brittany and Ebner Sumei, nor had he ever heard of them.

Although there are newspapers on the Old Continent, none dare to report on the affairs of the nobility unless it is to sing their praises.

Charles hesitated for a moment before cautiously asking, "This youngest lion of Notruden, how does he compare with Krel and your brother?"

With a hint of pride, Taoles said, "Of course he doesn't measure up; both of them are high level, and they're already close to reaching the threshold of the Sacred Order."

Charles immediately perked up, and upon hearing that this youngest lion of Notruden was not as fierce as Krel, he felt reassured and asked, "How do they compare to Cyrus?"

Seeing the strange expressions on the three women's faces, he quickly said, "Oh, oh, oh, Cyrus might not be very famous..."

"Then let me compare him to someone else."

The expressions on the faces of Taoles, Anatasiya, and Belisa, each distinctly beautiful, were all contorted. In their minds, it was utterly incredulous that anyone could utter such an astonishing statement as "Oh, oh, oh, Cyrus might not be very famous...".

Taoles had heard during her time at Gorky University that the South Ceraph Reclamation Army had a genius who studied at Byron's Tubingen University, mastering the Golden Requiem gunmanship, and ranked first in his class.

Anatasiya's situation was even more straightforward, being a native of Behemoth and with both generations of dukes and the duchess of Behemoth Duchy being from her family. Her father, Baron Filler, along with a host of Behemoth's nobility, were all killed by Lady Southseraph, and Cyrus, inheriting Jonathan's will, became the leader of the South Ceraph Restoration Army.

Once considered by Anatasiya as a mortal enemy who killed her mother, several generals of the Restoration Army under Cyrus's command, two of whom Charles had killed upon meeting them without even asking for their names.

And as for Belisa, she was right by the duchess's side, witnessing how Cyrus besieging the fortress caused the numerous nobles of Mostar Fortress to live in perpetual dismay. Everyone talked about Cyrus with fear, and even some of the more cowardly nobles dared not mention Cyrus's name, referring to him only as "that person."

Even the wife of Grand Duke Joseph was beheaded by Cyrus leading troops into Mostar Fortress.

Such a legendary figure was, in Charles's words, "Oh, oh, oh, Cyrus might not be very famous..." and he even thoughtfully added, "Then let me compare him to someone else."

The three girls all had a question they wanted to ask: "Who else are you planning to compare him to?"

If not for their refined and cultured demeanor, they would certainly have added a strong interjectory particle between "still" and "planning."

Charles did think of a person they could compare him to, and asked, "How does he stand compared to James Cook and Francis Drake?"

Taoles replied, "These two are the elite of the Inglima Navy, more than ten years older than Ban Lanmalock, naturally stronger."

After listening to Taoles's explanation, Charles suddenly realized it was not so easy to position the youngest lion of Notruden.

If just a bit higher, he wouldn't stand a chance, if just a bit lower, Charles could handle it himself...

What was he to do now?

Taoles saw Charles's contemplative, almost inviting-a-thumping facial expression and suddenly felt that perhaps worrying about him was unnecessary; after all, it wasn't for her he was dueling, she might as well stay silent.

Anatasiya and Belisa, though also worried for Charles, weren't that close with him. Seeing Taoles not offering counsel, they could only quietly fret. Thankfully, these duels were non-lethal, and a defeat was not unacceptable.

Having gotten no answer from the three girls, Charles decided to go ask Julian.

As dinner time approached, Charles, full of vigor, made another trip to the old man's shop. Julian, having seen him, was quite happy. When Charles brought up Ban Lanmalock, Julian gave a faint smile and said, "You've come to the right person."

Charles asked, "How come I have come to the right person?"

With a hint of pride, Julian answered, "Among the youth under twenty in the Five Great Empires, Notruden's youngest lion and Byron's youngest sky are tied!"

"You might as well call me 'Your Excellency of the Sky'."

Charles slapped his thigh and said, "If I'd known you were almost the same, I wouldn't have worried at all!"

Julian, annoyed, pointed at Charles and said, "Mister Mecklen, please rephrase, or there will be no dinner for you today."

Charles gave a goofy smile and quickly corrected himself, "To be mentioned in the same breath as you is truly impressive indeed."

"Hmm! It certainly is quite impressive."

Charles's initial comment might have been a bit dismissive, but those last words were genuinely from the heart.

Julian's strength was truly extraordinary, especially for someone so young, being only a freshman, with an unfathomable future ahead of him.

Motivated, Charles asked, "Why are there only two young men under twenty in the Five Great Empires? Don't Fars, Black Phoenix Dynasty, and Lionheart Dynasty have any remarkable youths?"
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Julian awkwardly said, "That's not the case. In Fars, Black Phoenix Dynasty, and Lionheart Dynasty, the most formidable individuals under twenty are all ladies. As a person of Fars, surely you've heard of the name 'Strasbourg Rose'?"

Charles awkwardly answered, "I've only heard of 'The Empire's First Rose'."

Julian was at a loss for words, then he remembered that Charles was a merchant's son and could naively say: Being of common birth, he indeed wouldn't know about these noble matters.

But... one might also say: Charles Mecklen has no eyes for the 'ordinary'."

Suddenly, Julian felt a tightening in his heart.