Charlot Mecklenburg refused to back down. With a flick of her Knight’s Lance, she shifted her position subtly, making it impossible for Count Lamorak's charge to lock onto her.
The two clashed a second time with a resounding collision.
Charlot performed admirably but not as flawlessly as the first strike. Her grip faltered slightly, causing one foot to slip into the river. However, she quickly slapped the surface of the Seventais River with her Knight’s Lance, using the water's rebound force to propel herself back into the air and force Count Lamorak to retreat.
The duelists circled each other three times across the river, their movements synchronized as they launched their next charge. Their lances struck like dragons breaking through the waves.
...
Six or seven rounds passed in the blink of an eye. Charlot's hands began to tremble slightly. She realized her lance techniques alone wouldn’t suffice against this opponent. Knowing her limits, she raised her voice and called out:
“Count Lamorak's lance techniques are unrivaled on the Old Continent. Thus, I shall switch to a new Knight’s Lance as a sign of respect.”
“I have experienced the prowess of the Lamorak family’s techniques. Now, allow me to choose a weapon better suited for this fight.”
Cheers erupted from the spectators on both riverbanks. Charlot’s words deeply gratified the vanity of the Ingrima people and even won over some of the residents of Britain.
On the Bridge of Britain, Emperor Alfred Guillaume allowed a rare smile and said, “Permission granted for Charlot Mecklenburg to change weapons.”
The emperor’s decree was quickly conveyed by a Saint rank official presiding over the duel. Count Lamorak lowered his Knight’s Lance and said, “Change your weapon.”
Charlot tossed her lance across the expansive Seventais River, where it lodged firmly into the riverbank. Julian Arsilo, standing on the other side, smiled and retrieved the lance before tossing a rope dart into the air for Charlot.
Charlot caught the weapon, stunned. She had assumed Dolores Soumet would throw her a meteor hammer. Dolores, holding her pair of meteor hammers, was equally surprised. She remarked to Anastasia and Belisa, “What a peculiar weapon!”
...
As Charlot adjusted to the rope dart, Count Lamorak attacked again. Forced to improvise, Charlot executed a series of dazzling maneuvers with the dart. Even Emperor Alfred Guillaume couldn’t help but praise her creativity.
Count Lamorak, unfamiliar with such a weapon, found himself overwhelmed. Each strike from the dart carried immense force, and its versatile rope allowed Charlot to launch short blades from unexpected angles. He had to respond with extreme caution.
After 17 or 18 moves, Count Lamorak finally grasped the intricacies of the weapon. If it had been an extraordinary weapon, it might have given him more trouble. However, as a mere mundane tool, it was ineffective against the frost dragon battle energy that fortified his body. Despite its extended range, the rope dart posed little threat.
Changing tactics, Count Lamorak infused rotational force into every strike of his Knight’s Lance. This technique ensnared Charlot’s rope dart whenever it made contact, forcing her to abandon it.
Charlot discarded the weapon and shouted, “Count Lamorak, let us stop toying around and fight in earnest!”
With a gesture, Dolores activated a magical card, summoning a mysterious power that delivered a pair of meteor hammers onto the battlefield.
Charlot grabbed the meteor hammers and seamlessly switched her technique to the Orc Meteor Hammer Style. Her strikes became both ferocious and intricately precise. Count Lamorak met her attacks head-on, countering each move with methodical precision.
After more than 20 exchanges, Count Lamorak’s frost dragon battle energy surged along his Knight’s Lance. When it clashed with Charlot’s meteor hammers, the chilling force shattered the ordinary weapons into pieces.
Charlot dropped the broken hammers and signaled for another weapon. This time, Anastasia threw two magical rapiers into the fray. As she released them, she realized her mistake: she had given both swords instead of just one. Normally, Charlot only wielded one rapier.
“Oops!” Anastasia thought. “I got too engrossed in the fight to remember which one he preferred!”
Charlot, unconcerned, caught both weapons. Not wanting to risk losing these extraordinary weapons to the river’s depths, she held onto them and smiled wryly at Count Lamorak. “Let me switch weapons again.”
Count Lamorak wasted no time, unleashing a torrent of strikes with his Knight’s Lance, resembling an ice dragon wreaking havoc. His family’s legendary lance techniques created waves of battle energy that resembled a towering mountain range.
Finally armed with his preferred weapons, Charlot steadied herself. With the experience gained from earlier exchanges, she relied on the agility granted by the Swiftstep Technique and the precision of the Spider Technique to maneuver across the river. Her twin rapiers danced in perfect harmony, alternating between crossing strikes and independent thrusts, fully showcasing the elegance of Arsilo Swordsmanship.
...
Charlot had mastered the eighth movement of the Angel’s Twelve Movements, the Twilight Requiem, which placed her swordsmanship above even Julian Arsilo and Hughes. Though her Stardust Battle Energy was somewhat weaker, the six of her seven Blood Vortexes amplified her power, evening the odds against Count Lamorak.
Under the intense pressure of facing one of the strongest young knights of the generation, Charlot discovered the unmatched synergy between the magical rapiers and her skills. Neither weapon length nor technique could compare to the boosts provided by the Angel’s Twelve Movements.
...
For two to three hundred moves, Charlot and Count Lamorak dueled fiercely across the Seventais River. The onlookers—nobles and commoners alike—were utterly captivated. Cheers rang out as they encouraged the fighters.
On the Bridge of Britain, Aurora Soumet stood beside her father, Duke Guillaume, watching the duel unfold.
As she observed Charlot deftly switch between multiple weapons, each wielded with astonishing skill, she couldn’t help but feel a pang of envy. Watching Charlot’s final elegant display with the twin rapiers, Aurora mused bitterly, “Is Menielman truly the Old Continent’s greatest beauty?”
“First Zimourman Axel Robin, now Charlot Mecklenburg. How many more admirers would challenge death for her?”
“Why is it that she can excel at everything?” Aurora wondered.
What Aurora didn’t realize was that Count Lamorak had challenged Charlot Mecklenburg for her sake. The duel, witnessed by Emperor Alfred Guillaume himself, had attracted an enormous crowd and left half of Britain’s young women burning with jealousy toward Aurora Soumet.
Many of them shared the same thought: “Why is it that you get to be so exceptional?”