Chapter 85

Duels were the most common way to settle disputes in the Empire. In a place where martial might made right, it was only natural for General Philostratos to request such a method to resolve the issue.

"It seems to me like you're staking a lot on your daughter's future,” Philostratos said. “I can see that her body contains hidden power, Lucianus. She's not just a [Healer], is she?"

"Your eyes haven't lost their sharpness, Philostratos," the Patriarch of the Gens Claudia replied. "You're right. My daughter is a fighter. I'm not sure, however, that you want to put your boy against her."

"Oh, and why not? Prince Kallikrates, despite being young and hot-blooded, is one of the most talented fighters in the Empire."

Lucianus rapped his knuckles on the table in front of him and spoke in a way that made Lily question his true intentions.

"He's going to lose—badly. Princess Antigone would be a better match for my daughter."

"I'm almost Level 100," the redhead woman said. "I'm sorry, Lord Lucianus, but your daughter is far from being capable of doing anything to me."

Even Philostratos, who was clearly an old fox, didn't believe Lucianus.

"You're boasting, Lucianus. I never knew you to be the kind of parent who would throw their children into reckless danger out of blindness."

Lily narrowed her eyes at Princess Antigone. She wondered if she could take the woman. She had grown much stronger since getting her Class and she knew she could take someone around Level 80. But not a Royal, perhaps. If she was as strong as the heir of one of the Great Families, she would probably lose against her.

Probably.

"Then let Prince Kallikrates face my daughter. If she wins, you'll be my second in command. I expect you to relay my orders to your men and for them to follow them. Do you swear on your honor, Philostratos?"

"I do, Lucianus. Do you swear on yours that your men will follow my orders when your daughter loses against Prince Kallikrates?"

"I do," Lucianus replied. "Let's get this started. First to yield or be incapacitated. My daughter can heal any wound, Philostratos, so don't you worry about what she's going to do to your nephew."

*

Lily and her father walked back toward the encampment, leaving a large distance between the two delegations.

Lucianus had just finished explaining the agreement to all of his commanders and Marcus.

"Milord!" One of them looked dismayed. "Your daughter is a [Healer]!"

"Lucianus," an old woman with a piece of her nose missing said, "are you serious? You're staking everything on your daughter? Why not face Philostratos yourself? Why put her against a Prince of an Empire whose pastime is fights just like this one?"

"I know what I'm doing," Lucianus said. "I should have trusted her with much more, much earlier. Just watch."

Hadrian was present, despite being quite inconspicuous in such a crowd. When he spoke, everyone turned to him.

"Don't kill the kid," the [Librarian] told Lily. "You don't want a diplomatic incident the first day we interact with the Empire in decades. They're hungry for war and levels, but they're a weapon that could turn this entire war around. You need them as friends."

For a moment, some of the commanders thought that Hadrian was speaking to Lucianus. When they realized he was talking to Lily, everyone frowned.

Marcus, the giant [Monk], gently patted Lily on the shoulder.

"The Empire loves a display of strength and some showmanship, Lily. Give them a real show."

"A show?" Lily asked, not following.

"Don't end it immediately. Show them what you're capable of. They respect strength. You're representing your father," Marcus said.

He had been informed by Lucianus about what Lily was doing there. He had also been told that Lily had been trained by none other than the strongest man in the Papacy, Caesar Iulius.

"I'll do my best," Lily said. "Can I go now?"

She had seen Prince Kallikrates leave the delegation and walk toward the center of the plain.

The two armies had made camp in a large, barren plain in the Dead Lands. There were hills around them, providing a natural cover from the hordes of Undead. Philostratos's men had removed the tent where Lucianus had engaged in negotiations with the General of the Sons of Neocles.

"Go," Lucianus said.

Lily started walking toward the spot where the tent had been erected, where some dead grass was still flattened by its presence.

Prince Kallikrates and Lily stopped roughly five meters from each other.

He was holding a large, round shield, and a spear. At his waist, there was also a short sword. He had a thick helmet on his head, but otherwise his body was only covered by thin leather armor. He was clearly planning to rely on his shield as his only means of protection.

"What's your weapon of choice?" Prince Kallikrates asked, confused. "Is it the dagger?"

"These," Lily replied, raising her fists.

"You're going to fight me without a weapon?" Prince Kallikrates frowned. "Are you insane? Do you know who I am? I've trained in warfare since I was three, girl!"

"I've got a few decades of training on you, boy," Lily shot back.

"You're a fool. I didn't know the Church had become this delusional. My father was right in sending us here. You people are idiots. I can see now why you couldn't manage to clean these forsaken lands."

Lily activated [The Seven Stars of Twilight] and her eyes suddenly morphed, her pupils forming seven small stars that started rotating as she assessed Prince Kallikrates’ power level.

He's their greatest talent? she wondered, confused.

"Are you ready?" the Prince asked, impatient. "I want to put a quick end to this farce before my name gets dragged through the mud for fighting such a useless fool. I wish I could have seen Uncle Philostratos fight instead."

"I'm ready," Lily said a moment before lunging forward. "I don't think you are."

"Hah, what a jo—"

Lily couldn't use any Skill that outputted Death Magic directly since she was still holding her cover. That meant that [Sky of Death] and [Fallen Angel's Wings] were out of the equation. Yet, she used [Veins of Gold] and [Lux Vitae Overdrive] immediately, with the first negating the side-effects of the second. Immediately, she could feel power filling up her body. Then, she used [Coniunctionis] and moved so fast that she knew Prince Kallikrates couldn't follow her movements.

She could have immediately gone for a finishing move, but instead she just threw a punch at the shield.

The bronze alloy rang like a gong and the boy, taken by surprise, skidded a few meters back.

Lily, whose body was now emitting vapor through her reddened, gold-veined skin, straightened and didn't move.

Prince Kallikrates, shaken, looked at his shield.

Another opening, Lily thought. But she did nothing as Prince Kallikrates took stock of the dent on his shield.

She had utterly broken her hand against it; so she mended it before anyone could notice by using [Blessing of Life], the evolution of her family's Great Skill.

"T—that was a lucky shot!" Prince Kallikrates called out.

He doesn't even believe his own words, Lily thought.

She almost felt bad about the fact that she was about to beat the living hell out of this arrogant kid. In a way, with the memories and experience of two lives, she was much older than the fourteen years old that she displayed. Yet, she wasn't old nor wise enough that she would pass up the opportunity to teach this kid a lesson.

Few things were as tempting as the occasion to beat up an arrogant child while being a child yourself.

This time, Prince Kallikrates attacked and Lily raised an eyebrow. The ground around him turned into magma and it coalesced around the spear as he lunged forward.

"Magma Affinity," she muttered to herself as she easily dodged the blow. She struck the lance's shaft and had it fly away from his hand.

Prince Kallikrates rolled away from her and took out his sword.

In the next exchange, he summoned a small lake of magma around them, but Lily's body, thanks to [The Vitruvian Body] and the continuous healing from [Blessing of Life] made her essentially invulnerable to the heat.

She kept using [Coniunctionis] to batter the shield, destroying her hands time after time, but forcing Prince Kallikrates to hide behind his shield and put all his weight behind it.

The scene was undoubtedly the most pathetic fight one could have imagined for the Royal Prince; he wasn't able to do anything but hold onto his shield for dear life as Lily battered it so thoroughly that soon, he started feeling the enchantments in it starting to give out.

At that point, he was forced to toss it away. He stood in front of her, humiliated, holding only his short sword.

*

"She's insanely strong," Marcus whistled. "Did you know she was this strong?"

"I've sparred with her," Lucianus coughed. "She's very strong."

"Do you think she could fight me if we were at the same level?" Marcus asked, curious.

The [Monk] Class required many [Oaths] that one had to take in order to deprive themselves of something. Every [Oath] made the Class grow stronger. Marcus had many and also possessed an incredible level of talent.

"Marcus," Lucianus said slowly. "I don't want to offend you, my friend. But we have known each other for almost all our lives, correct?"

"Yes?" Marcus was confused as to where this was going.

"If Lily was your level," Lucianus explained, "you wouldn't have any chance."

"What?" Marcus laughed. "We're both hand-to-hand fighters, Lucianus. My Class has a natural advantage over hers, too. Sure, she's strong now, but when she grows in level, the difference between a specialized Class like mine and hers will show."

"Marcus," Lucianus frowned. "I'm not sure that you could take her on if she was fifty levels below you."

*

"How strong is she?" Prince Nikandros asked his Royal Uncle.

"She's impressive, but this is just Kallikrates's fault for underestimating her," Princess Antigone said, answering in her Uncle's place and frowning. "He's just not thinking straight."

"She's holding back," General Philostratos suddenly said, shutting down his niece. "She's not using her Class Skills. Barely a few, I believe."

*

Lily danced around Prince Kallikrates’ slashes. [The Seven Stars of Twilight]'s precognition allowed her to predict every single slash, even when the boy tried to empower them with Skills and hit harder or faster. He had no real strategy—he was just chasing after her, slashing wildly.

She had been dodging for nearly thirty seconds, easily moving around his slashes, redirecting them, and following up with small taps on his body.

The armies that had come out to watch were oohing and shouting, whistling and laughing.

Prince Kallikrates, who now clearly understood that Lily was toying with him, started shouting in rage, redoubling his efforts to actually hurt her.

After a couple of minutes of this had passed, Lily finally got tired and easily disarmed the boy.

"Give up."

"No!" Prince Kallikrates shouted, throwing a punch.

Lily ducked, shot a double-legged kick into the young boy, and slammed him into the ground so powerfully that a small crater appeared behind him and his eyes rolled back in his head.

The spectators erupted in cheers. 

Lily got up and raised her hands in triumph.