Chapter 22

[Armour Fortress]? But why?

A strange glint flickered in the beautiful eyes of Aesphyra.

She distinctly remembered that in her previous life, Winnie’s Soul Armament was an outright Dark one, feeding on the flesh and blood of the living to advance.

But why? Why had his Soul Armament changed in this life?

And why was it [Armour Fortress]?

Aesphyra couldn’t figure it out. Even if he hadn’t chosen a Dark Soul Armament, based on Winnie’s personality, he would never have chosen [Armour Fortress].

Soul Armaments like [Poison Master], [Assassin], or [Shadow Stab], sinister and vicious low-star Soul Armaments, were clearly more in line with Winnie’s dark and twisted nature.

This was truly unexpected for Aesphyra and made her wary.

Having lived through her previous life, she possessed knowledge of the future that no one else had.

Yet, this unique advantage now seemed utterly useless.

At this moment, the future had deviated significantly from the path she remembered.

Perhaps due to this subtle butterfly effect, the future would be completely different from what she had experienced before.

Aesphyra’s lips still carried that gentle, jade-like smile, but her heart was anything but calm.

Ah~ Things seem to be getting interesting.

The deviation from the original course meant that all the future intelligence she had mastered would become unreliable.

Aesphyra couldn’t predict how much impact this butterfly effect would have on the future.

However, Aesphyra wasn’t annoyed by the unpredictability of the future.

Compared to a predetermined future, an uncertain one was clearly more fun and exciting, wasn’t it?~

As for Winnie, Aesphyra wasn’t in a hurry.

As long as he remained Winnie, his demonic nature would eventually reveal itself.

When that time came…

Aesphyra played with her fair, delicate fingers, her smiling eyes carrying a cold glint.

The spectators each had their own thoughts, and the two in the arena were no exception.

Winnie suddenly shivered, feeling as though someone was coveting his head.

But now was clearly not the time to dwell on such thoughts.

He observed the squire apprentice, who was also sizing him up.

Seeing the nervousness and hostility in the other’s eyes, Winnie raised his gaze.

This young man couldn’t hide his emotions; he was probably lured here by empty promises.

Glancing at the two Dragon Knights whispering in the stands, he lowered the double-edged spear he had been carrying on his shoulder, planting it on the ground and letting the flag at its tip flutter in the wind.

This flag spear was something he had bought on the way here from a weapon shop. He believed his optimal combat position was at mid-range, so he had chosen the spear as his primary weapon.

He wore a steel helmet with a red tassel, a full set of shiny fish-scale armor, brass shoulder guards, a skirt armor, and intricately engraved plate boots.

With one hand resting on the spear and a saber hanging at his waist, he cut an imposing figure.

Even though [Armour Fortress] was considered a mediocre Soul Armament, its appearance was undeniably impressive.

Even someone like Winnie looked majestic in this attire.

“Let’s skip the introductions. You know who I am, and I don’t care to know who you are. Bring it on.” Winnie waved his hand dismissively as the squire apprentice stepped forward to go through the formalities.

The squire apprentice was taken aback.

While Winnie’s words were blunt, they were undeniably offensive.

What did he mean by “I don’t care to know who you are”?

The squire apprentice was furious, silently cursing Winnie for his arrogance.

He wasn’t introducing himself for Winnie’s sake, but for Princess Mirexia!

But with Winnie’s dismissive remark, forcing an introduction now would only make him look like a peacock showing off.

Winnie, however, was indifferent to the hatred he was attracting.

He was already the most notorious and despised scoundrel in the capital, and his relentless pursuit of Mirexia had only added to his infamy.

A little more or less hatred didn’t matter to him.

“Then I’ll ask for your guidance, Young Master Winnie,” the squire apprentice said through gritted teeth.

Guidance?

Winnie couldn’t help but roll his eyes.

He was probably under orders to beat him up badly. Guidance? How amusing.

“”One more or less doesn’t matter,” Winnie said casually, noticing the other’s gnashing-teeth expression. He kicked the base of his spear and gripped it firmly.

Mirexia, watching from the stands, couldn’t help but feel a pang of surprise.

She had noticed that after the initial shock of seeing her and bowing in her direction, Winnie hadn’t glanced her way again.

If this duel had been orchestrated by Winnie to impress her, he wouldn’t have been so calm.

Mirexia knew Winnie’s nature all too well.

If he had truly wanted to use this opportunity to show off in front of her, he would have come to the palace beforehand, boasting about it.

The fact that he hadn’t done so suggested that her presence at the duel was unexpected to him.

Perhaps even the duel itself hadn’t been his idea.

Could it be that he had really changed?

Was that even possible?

As the saying goes, “It’s easier to change a mountain or a river than a person’s nature.”

While Mirexia was lost in thought, the duel in the arena below began.

The squire apprentice summoned his Soul Armament, [Bow Arm].

Winnie observed the apprentice’s Soul Armament carefully.

This was his first one-on-one duel with someone who possessed a Soul Armament, so he had to learn as he went.

Might as well use this as a learning experience.

The squire apprentice drew his longbow, and the arm holding it began to glow with a red energy, transforming into a semi-transparent, energy-filled limb. The bow itself also radiated a red light.

So this was the [Bow Arm] Soul Armament?

Although a two-star Soul Armament was still considered low-tier, it was still one rank higher than Winnie’s one-star [Armour Fortress], and it likely granted access to more magical abilities.

Even though the apprentice was also at the beginner level, Winnie wasn’t sure if [Bow Arm] allowed the user to launch magical attacks at this stage.

Yes, Winnie had already guessed some of the weaknesses of [Armour Fortress].

The duel officially began, and the squire apprentice drew an arrow from his quiver, aiming it at Winnie.

Instead of dodging, Winnie chose to close the distance.

If he couldn’t dodge, why not use this chance to get closer?

The armored figure gripped his spear with both hands and charged at his opponent.

This scene reminded Aesphyra of the [Charge of the Terraria Spears] painting she had once seen, depicting elite imperial knights clad in [Armour Fortress] armor charging into battle.

But now, instead of the empire’s knights, it was Winnie, the infamous scoundrel of the capital, clad in that armor.

“Clang!” The arrow struck Winnie’s shoulder plate and was deflected harmlessly.

Even before the real fight began, Winnie felt the pressure from the Dragon Knight’s squire.

This arrow was nothing like the feeble shots from goblins.

Though it didn’t penetrate his armor, the impact was enough to stagger him slightly.

If he had lost his balance and fallen, it would have been a disaster.

Gripping his weapon tightly, Winnie maintained his charge, but the heavy armor and his lack of physical training meant his speed was barely faster than a brisk walk, hardly impressive to the squire apprentice.

“Well, this good-for-nothing is probably going to collapse under the weight of his own armor,” one of the knights on the stands chuckled, clearly amused by Winnie’s sluggish charge.

They had expected a one-sided duel, but the beginning was already full of entertainment. It was too comical.

The squire apprentice, who had been nervous earlier, now relaxed.

He leisurely drew a second arrow and took aim at Winnie.

“Clang!” The arrow was deflected again, but it was clear that the first shot had been a test.

The second arrow marked the true start of the duel.