The disciple surpasses the master

For a time, the field was utterly silent.

Even the enraged members of the Blue Lion Knight Order were silenced, their voices suppressed by the aura of this unit.

And what the opposing side displayed wasn’t anything extraordinary.

It was merely the most basic and core quality of an army—strict discipline, immediate obedience to orders, and absolute prohibition of what is forbidden.

“Is this the renowned, invincible Azure Sky Knight Order?”

Morick couldn’t help but murmur; he now somewhat understood why the Crown Prince was so enthusiastic, and he also understood what kind of army the Crown Prince intended to build.

The Crown Prince also wore an undisguised look of delight.

“Rise, this is an unofficial drill; there’s no need to be so stiff.”

“Understood!”

Mounten stood up, executed a standard pivot, and turned to his subordinates to give the command to rise.

The eighteen soldiers quickly picked up their weapons and stood, still perfectly aligned.

The Crown Prince’s joy intensified.

To prevent any mishaps, the Crown Prince ordered them to march to the side of the Black Dragon Knight Order and stand at ease.

The blue-haired youth, Ceredu, quickly walked onto the platform.

“Your Highness Ryan, please allow our soldiers to spar with Count Mounten’s subordinates!”

His eyes were filled with undisguised fury and fighting spirit.

From afar, the Blue Lion Knight Order members were also gritting their teeth, glaring at the people under the Pale Wolf banner, as if wanting to kill them with their gaze.

‘Why would Your Highness make these two units gather in one place?’

Recalling the animosity between the two sides, Morick couldn’t help but complain inwardly.

At this moment, he noticed the Crown Prince specifically glancing at Flora by his side.

The blonde girl was quietly watching the Blue Lion Knight Order members, her eyes filled with melancholy and sadness.

Morick somewhat understood the Crown Prince’s intention, but he was even more surprised.

He didn’t understand how Flora had gotten involved with the Blue Lion Knight Order… It couldn’t be that the Blue Lion family’s daughter had sent someone to inquire about the Crown Prince beforehand, could it?

On the other side, Ryan was also a bit confused.

Logically, if the blonde girl was related to the Blue Lion, at this moment, instead of sadness, she should be hostile towards the Azure Sky Knight Order.

Just then, Mounten also walked onto the platform.

“General Mounten, Vice Commander Yaros wishes for his subordinates to spar with your soldiers. What do you think?”

Ryan knew his words had a clear bias, but he didn’t care.

Ceredu, as expected, grew angrier.

Mounten, however, was quite calm, and said solemnly,

“No problem!”

With Morick present, Ryan didn’t need to explain too much.

After Morick explained the rules, Ceredu impatiently went to prepare, while Mounten walked a short distance below the platform and gestured to his subordinates.

A young soldier holding a long spear immediately stepped forward.

Ryan noticed that the blonde girl finally looked directly at the Azure Sky Knight Order members, and as expected, she showed a look of annoyance.

And the match ended very quickly.

In just three exchanges, the Blue Lion Knight Order member was defeated.

Not only that, the young soldier who won didn’t leave the field, staying to continue the subsequent arena battles… and successfully took on three opponents.

During the team battle, Mounten finally ordered the young soldier to withdraw.

Then he only sent out six men.

But the situation was still one-sided.

Zero to nine.

The Blue Lion’s nine men couldn’t even leave the white marking powder used for matches on their opponents.

In fact, their nine-on-six advantage at the start quickly turned into them being surrounded by six men, suppressed to the point of being unable to breathe.

“How could this be… how can there be such a huge gap?”

Even with deep-seated hatred, the faces of the Blue Lion members now only showed profound despair and fear.

“Is this the legendary ‘one Azure Sky Knight Order soldier is worth five barbarians’?”

Morick was stunned.

Although he hadn’t seen the previous matches, the Blue Lion Knight Order was, after all, one of the six great knight orders, yet they were being beaten so badly… Could their soldiers, when they went on, even take down a single person?

“That’s an exaggeration; individual barbarians aren’t worse than their elites. Only when they form a certain number and can coordinate in battle do they have an advantage.”

The blonde girl suddenly said.

And no matter how it sounded, it seemed as if she was intentionally disparaging the Azure Sky Knight Order.

But let alone Morick, all the people of the empire knew that for the past hundred years, imperial soldiers had been repeatedly crushed by the barbarians of the plains, often suffering disastrous defeats even with overwhelming numerical superiority.

So much so that the empire had to adopt a national policy of defense first, appeasement second, repeatedly sending beauties and large quantities of supplies to the north, begging for a short-lived and easily broken peace from the barbarians… It was beyond humiliating.

But all of this ended eight years ago.

With the appearance of that figure, as brilliant as a comet, the empire’s offensive and defensive stance completely reversed; it began to be invincible against the barbarians.

The troops he led even pushed all the way to the barbarians’ Wolf Holy Mountain, performing sacrificial rites to heaven, inflicting a century-rare humiliation upon the barbarians…

“Indeed, the physical quality of barbarian soldiers is not inferior to our elite.”

The Crown Prince, however, nodded, affirming the blonde girl’s statement, his face showing as much restraint as possible, but to Morick, it was an unmistakably obvious look of approval, “But this is their true strength.”

The blonde girl stopped speaking.

The situation on the field also changed at this moment.

Seeing the morale plummet to its lowest point and his subordinates’ confidence utterly shattered, the blue-haired youth could no longer hold back; he leaped into the field, raising his sword towards the mountain-like burly general.

“Flax Mounten, I challenge you!”

Mounten, however, turned to look at the Crown Prince.

“Please show mercy.”

The Crown Prince said, even though the blue-haired youth was listening.

Ceredu didn’t care at all; clearly, he only wanted Mounten to enter the field, nothing else mattered.

“Understood.”

Mounten saluted and walked into the field.

The blue-haired youth immediately materialized behind him a huge male lion with blue fur, wrapped in surging electric light, standing two meters tall.

The Azure Electric Lion.

The most common and iconic Guardian Spirit of the Yaros family.

Ceredu waited for a while in a very knightly manner, but Mounten showed no action, and he immediately understood that the opponent didn’t even intend to use his Guardian Spirit, so he furiously charged forward.

Under the enhancement of his Guardian Spirit, known for its strength and speed, the blue-haired youth was like a charging beast; where his feet trod, the earth shattered, and dirt and rocks splattered.

The longsword in his hand was wrapped in blue electric light, emitting a harsh sound that seemed like roaring thunder.

Just as this humanoid thunder beast was about to unleash its sharp claws upon its enemy, Mounten, who had been as still as a mountain, calm and collected, suddenly rushed ahead of the blue-haired youth and unleashed a swift, earth-shattering punch.

Boom!

A deafening explosion rang out.

After the smoke-like dust cleared, the burly figure still stood like a towering mountain.

And the blue-haired youth lay on the ground, eyes rolled back, completely unconscious.

Seeing their hard-won opponent utterly thrashed by someone, and even their vice commander with a Guardian Spirit knocked down in one blow… the Black Dragon Knight Order soldiers were left stunned, their mouths agape for a long time.

“This… Is this what they call ‘the student surpasses the master’?”