Charlot Mecklenburg waited for a day, yet Lady Nancel made no move. He waited another day, and still, there was no sign of action. On the third day, Charlot could no longer bear it and asked Grandma Saint Karen to send a message to Hughes.
Hughes, straightforward as ever, immediately agreed to meet.
Charlot, furious, pointed an accusatory finger at Hughes and said, “How could you break your promise? I even told you a massive secret about Lady Nancel.”
Hughes smiled indifferently and replied, “Since it’s a secret, let it remain a secret forever.”
“Jonan raised me from childhood. I acknowledge only one Jonan.”
Charlot suddenly realized his miscalcution. The bond between Hughes and Jonan was too deep. Hughes had no interest in any so-called "true Jonan." What Charlot didn’t know was that Hughes had already made up his mind: no matter what kind of grand scheme Charlot proposed or how he tried to convince him, Hughes would never fall for it.
Hughes became even more certain that Charlot was plotting something significant.
Frustrated, Charlot was about to tell Grandma Saint Karen to call off the meeting when Hughes casually added, “If you agree to duel me ten times, I’ll unch an attack once.”
Charlot couldn't help muttering under his breath, “Damn natives.”
He spoke in Chinese, which Hughes didn’t understand, but that didn’t matter. Hughes immediately raised the stakes. “Twenty duels, and I’ll attack once.”
Charlot snapped, “Do you think I’m stupid? You just want to kill me twenty times and never attack.”
Hughes held up three fingers and solemnly decred, “By the Blood God Timothy, I swear to the commander of Silver Dove Castle that if I duel him twenty times, I will dispatch a hundred warriors to attack once. Should I break this vow, may I never avenge Jonan.”
Charlot took a deep breath. Timothy, the founder of the Ebrelrahan Cn, was a sinister god who had established the Blood Furnace technique and the famed Golden Requiem nce style. Even in the human realm, many admired this vampiric knight.
Since Hughes practiced both the Blood Furnace and Golden Requiem, his vow to the Blood God Timothy carried significant weight. It was nearly unbreakable.
After a moment of hesitation, Charlot agreed. “Fine, I’ll do it.”
He didn’t forget to mention to Grandma Saint Karen, “Sorry to trouble you again.”
Grandma Saint Karen smiled kindly. “I quite enjoy watching young ones duel vigorously in the Dreamcrafting arts. It’s far better than fighting in the real world—no deaths, far less cruelty.”
Charlot thought to himself, That’s true. If no one dies, a few duels don’t matter.
Hughes pointed his bck Knight’s Lance toward the sky and bellowed, “Fight me, coward!”
Charlot snorted coldly. His weapon, Blood Rose, fshed forward, seizing the initiative with its speed.
In their first real battle, Charlot sted only seven or eight moves before falling behind. By the time he mastered the third movement of Eternal Dawn, the two could exchange over ten strikes. Later, when he achieved Wings of the Young Dragon, Charlot managed to push Hughes back, even killing Jonan with a single strike. That time, they didn’t cross bdes again.
However, in their first duel within the dream realm, Charlot was defeated after merely thirty moves, pierced through by Hughes’ nce.
This time, Charlot was shocked to find that Hughes had grown even stronger in just a few days. He was overwhelmed from the start and defeated after twenty moves.
Ten minutes ter, Charlot reappeared in the dream realm. Facing Hughes’ overwhelming killing intent, Charlot felt a twinge of fear. But remembering he couldn’t truly die, he once again unched an aggressive attack with Blood Rose.
This time, he fared worse—Hughes shattered his legs within twenty moves and finished him off with another strike.
Hughes, now exuding the prowess of a high-rank knight, was even more formidable than Harriet Alva.
Charlot returned to the dream realm once more, forcing himself to calm down. He gave up on reckless attacks and began responding to Hughes’ moves cautiously.
But Hughes’ nce techniques evolved as well. Each strike was faster than the st. By the twelfth move, his momentum peaked, and with a single blow, he shattered Charlot’s head.
In the fourth, fifth, and sixth battles, Charlot’s performance fluctuated. However, his results trended downward. By the tenth duel, he couldn’t even st ten moves.
When Charlot faced Hughes for the eleventh time, Hughes said, “This time, you won’t block a single strike.”
Charlot raised Blood Rose before him and murmured, “Indeed, this time, it’ll only take one move.”
He leapt high, unleashing all his pent-up frustration. Blood Rose bzed with a fiery glow as Charlot abandoned defense entirely, using the fifth movement of Angel’s Twelve Movements—Dragon Fire Barrage!
Blood Rose and the bck Knight’s Lance cshed mid-air thirty-seven times before Hughes struck Charlot down. Yet, as Charlot fell, his final desperate attack sent Blood Rose flying, piercing Hughes’ left eye.
As Hughes had predicted, Charlot failed to withstand a single blow. However, under Charlot’s relentless counterattack, Hughes also met his demise. For the first time in their duels, Charlot had injured Hughes and achieved a hard-fought, mutual defeat.
Grandma Saint Karen sat leisurely within the dream realm, enjoying tea and delicacies while watching the duels. “Not bad,” she murmured, appreciating the two young warriors.
Charlot’s tactics had bordered on desperation—he never intended to survive the fight. His attacks were all a ruse to unleash Bloodfme Qi and throw Blood Rose. Though effective this time, it wouldn’t work again once Hughes adapted.
Even so, Grandma Saint Karen thought highly of Charlot. His ability to reflect and adjust proved he was not a rigid, inflexible fighter.
“A good child,” she said with a smile. “Though his history is a bit checkered, he’s willing to change for the better. He cares deeply for Annie and has unlimited potential. This old granny is happy to lend them a helping hand.”
“Whether it’s Annie’s good judgment or fate, Charlot has found someone worth changing for.”
Charlot and Hughes stood once more in the dream realm.
Charlot had regained his confidence.
Hughes, though slightly uneasy, still believed that the twelfth duel would end in his victory.