Chapter 253: The Broken Noble
The shouts of the crowd were a distant, furious tide. They crashed against the hovering platform, demanding action, demanding a spectacle. They wanted a duel, not a mugging.
Eric William lay sprawled on the cold adamantite, his pristine noble uniform ripped, his armor plating chipped. The white-hot light of his mana was reduced to a sputtering candle. He tasted blood and the dust of his own shattered pride.
He looked up at his opponents.
Jaren Falk, the Imperial Martial Artist, didn't move. He stood like a statue carved from granite, radiating an aura of impenetrable, disciplined Qi. He had yet to use a single major spell or even break a sweat.
Rowan Halford, the Duelist, circled Eric slowly, his rapier dancing with a silent, hypnotic energy. Rowan hadn't launched an attack meant to kill, only to dismantle and humiliate.
