One-way traffic

A beam of light shot into the sky and exploded.

Under the astonished gaze of everyone, Julius's blade, or rather his entire body, was enveloped in a colorful glow.

Light condensed on his sword, and a huge, colorful sword aura, more than seven meters long, stretched out.

Magic—Accelerator can sense the opponent's power; the opponent has gathered magic into their weapon.

But it's not that simple.

"Six types of magic used at the same time...?"

As an elven sorcerer, Julius is not only capable of using one or two types of magic, but he can even imbue his sword with magic of all six elements.

An unimaginable amount of power instantly coalesced.

"You truly live up to those words, Accelerator. Your strength far exceeds my expectations."

"Therefore, I will respond to you with all my might!"

Just as he said, this strike will be one he goes all out on.

Julius raised the blade of his sword high with unimaginable force, and that was it.

He dropped it from a great height.

"This is my all-out attack, get ready!"

"Al-Crozilla—!!!"

The radiance devoured everything.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, Julius unleashed a near-limitless attack, the shockwave of which even affected the surrounding stands.

The entire training ground was shaking violently.

"call……"

Julius took a deep breath; it was a powerful move that had taken a lot of energy out of him, so the depletion of his stamina was inevitable.

So, what was the result?

"At the very least, he must have been injured, right...?"

This is what Julius thought.

Then, the storm began.

The scene before him came into view once again.

The entire room fell silent.

Only the sound of pure footsteps can be heard by everyone.

"Nice shot."

White hair like bones, and deep red eyes like pigeon blood.

Despite her small and thin figure, she walked towards Julius step by step.

Not a hair was damaged.

At that moment, everyone's reaction went beyond mere surprise.

They couldn't even speak; it was as if their brains had shut down.

Accelerator did nothing from the beginning; he simply stood there.

Julius didn't even have the right to harm a single hair on his head.

"...I see."

Despite this situation, Julius's face showed an expression of complete understanding.

"In other words, all of this is genuine."

He confirmed one thing: the person in front of him was genuinely powerful, not just boasting.

Even after taking a full-force blow head-on, he wasn't even scratched.

This is beyond what a simple word like "powerful" can describe.

At that moment, everyone couldn't help but think of one person.

That was Reinhard standing near the training ground.

"That person... is just as powerful as Reinhard!"

No one knows who said that, but everyone immediately erupted in laughter.

They witnessed all of this firsthand.

Even a full-force attack from Rius wouldn't be able to harm him in the slightest; from the very beginning, he possessed genuine strength.

Hatsune Miku's face had completely returned to normal, as if she had breathed a sigh of relief.

"What happened? Is it over already?"

Accelerator faced his opponent and spoke in a somewhat monotonous tone.

"What are you going to do? Will you continue playing with me? Or will you give up? These are your own choices."

"...I will not give up."

Julius stood up again.

He was not intimidated by the fact that his attacks were completely ineffective; the knight chose to continue fighting.

"If you want me to stop, then face me with the only option: defeat me... A true knight will not fall until the very last moment."

"Is that so?"

This is Julius's choice.

In contrast, Accelerator will grant his wish.

He raised his hands high.

"That suits me perfectly."

Whoosh! An unprecedented storm swept in instantly.

As if mocking everything that had happened before, the very first strike instantly revealed a terrifying, cataclysmic power.

This was actually Accelerator's first official move in this duel.

And with just one move, he had already reached such a terrifying level.

Its power even surpasses that of Julius's strongest attack.

"what is this?!"

"Is it magic? But this wind is way too much!"

"This...this kind of strength...only that court magician can compare to him, right?!"

Everyone was terrified by this, except for Accelerator and Julius, whose expressions remained calm from beginning to end.

Julius will not choose to give up; it is his choice. As a knight, even if he is defeated, he will never choose to surrender.

Accelerator is well aware of this.

"I remember his name was Julius."

While manipulating the wind, the number one strongest said this.

"—You're a guy with backbone."

"Is this so..."

Julius gave a soft, bitter smile, then raised his sword.

"That's quite a compliment!"

Without hesitation, he charged straight at Accelerator.

The first one showed no mercy; he simply raised his hand, and a tornado with a speed exceeding that of a Category 12 typhoon instantly crashed into the other person's body.

Immediately afterwards——

In that instant, a stream of light that did not belong to anything suddenly flashed by.

Snap! The storm was cut in two, like a piece of paper torn in half, scattering in all directions.

"That's enough, Julius."

A familiar voice appeared between the two.

When Julius came to his senses, a straight figure was already standing in front of him and Accelerator.

It's Reinhard.

In his hand, he held tightly the Dragon Sword, passed down through generations of the Astrea family.

"Your spirit has been truly received by everyone. You are a genuine knight. The title of 'the best knight' is well-deserved."

"However, if this continues, this battle will have lost all meaning."

Reinhard stood before Julius, who looked utterly astonished.

"In that case, I will take your place in this duel. It's not your fault; it's just that the opponent's strength is completely mismatched with yours. Your power is undeniable..."

"Reinhard, you...you wouldn't want to—"

Before Julius could finish speaking, Reinhard chuckled.

Then, he uttered a sentence that was enough to shake the entire kingdom.

"It seems a mistake to make Julius your opponent. Let's do it this way."

He gently sheathed the dragon sword and then continued speaking.

"--Well then, let me spar with you for a bit, Yifang."

"…ah?"

Even Accelerator himself looked at the other party with a look of astonishment.

Everyone in the room heard what Reinhard said.

"...What did he just say?"

"Reinhard, it's time to fight."

"Are we dreaming...?"

Everyone was absolutely blown away.

Today, the world's strongest villain meets the world's strongest swordsman.

—A formal battle is about to begin.

Chapter Sixty-Seven: A Gentle Sparring

Originally, Wang Xuan's matter should still be being dealt with.

However, as I've already said, that should have been the original situation.

"Report! Report—!!"

A soldier pushed open the door and ran quickly into Wang Xuan's hall.

All eyes were on him.

"What's wrong? What could possibly be so important that you'd send an urgent report during the royal selection period?"

"Hey! Someone's started a duel!"

The knight went straight to the center of the hall, where the five girls who were candidates for the throne were all standing in front of him.

He simply stated everything directly.

"Knight Julius and that gentleman named Accelerator have engaged in a duel in the training grounds!"

"Eh?!"

The first to be taken aback was Emilia, who had long silver hair.

The half-elf girl's eyes widened in shock as she stared at the other person.