Chapter 019: Who Dares to Try?

A look of surprise appeared on the faces of Austin III and Prince Fischer. Abraham, standing behind Prince Fischer, rushed forward abruptly, but it was clearly too late!
In that split second, Best’s figure suddenly halted abruptly, coming to a stop mid-air less than half a meter away from Austin III. It was a strange sight—something moving at great speed suddenly stopping like that; it was beyond human capability!
Yet Best managed to do it. But with that sudden stop, he spat out a mouthful of blood with a “whoosh”—this time, the blood was mixed with chunks of flesh. Clearly, stopping mid-air had further injured this Star Sword Saint!
But that wasn’t the end!
Best gritted his teeth, stretched out his finger, and pointed ahead. A beam of holy energy emanated from his fingertip, glowing brightly with an extremely pure light that instantly covered the entire platform where Austin III stood.
After doing all this, Best spat out another mouthful of blood with a “whoosh.” His body swayed in mid-air for a few moments before crashing to the ground with a “thud.”
All of this happened in the blink of an eye, making it hard to believe. It wasn’t until Best’s body hit the ground that brief gasps of shock could be heard around him.
Then silence… near absolute silence.
Francis stood in the center of the training ground, still looking handsome. From afar, he gazed at Best below the platform, his eyes showing a hint of regret and sorrow.
Following his gaze, everyone saw Best.
He lay face up on the ground, blood flowing continuously from every part of his body. His chest rose and fell, but with each movement, large amounts of blood and flesh spilled from his mouth.
This should have been an agonizing experience, but this Star Sword Saint didn’t even let out a cry. He simply stared at the sky, as if there was still a faint smile on his lips.

Francis looked at him, suddenly shook his head gently, and sighed, “You didn’t have to die… I already showed mercy. If you had done nothing, you could have recovered after a few years of rest. By then, it wouldn’t be too late for you to come and seek revenge from me… But in the end, you stubbornly stopped, taking all of my sword energy into your body, even using your last bit of fighting spirit to protect that old emperor… Why did you do that?”
Best struggled a few times, seemingly trying to get up, but he ultimately failed. After a moment, he seemed to sigh softly and said, “A true man knows what to do and what not to do in this world… If I only cared about my own life and death, how could I deserve to be called the Sword Saint!”
Francis sighed, “You truly deserve the title of Sword Saint!”
Best smiled faintly, his face pale and weak. After a moment, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes, then he said in a low voice, “So this is the rule… I seem… to understand now!”
With a faint smile, this Star Sword Saint uttered his last words in life. Then, with satisfaction and peace, he took his final breath!
The entire place fell into a deathly silence!
Best, the Star Sword Saint who had dominated the continent for decades and was known as the strongest under the stars, had died like this!?
The gap! This was the gap!
Although both were saints, their different understandings of power created this fundamental difference!
For decades, Best had been at the top of the strongmen in Roland Continent, yet he couldn’t even cause the slightest harm to Francis, the Silver Sheath Sword Saint.
In front of Francis, Best was undoubtedly defeated!?
This was absolute power! True strength!
The people of Prince Fischer, when looking at Francis, had eyes filled with despair! With such an unparalleled strongman by his side, why would the crown prince worry about failing?
Francis watched Best die peacefully. He slowly sheathed the Blood Rose Sword, then gently tapped his chest with his right hand, bowed slightly in Best’s direction, and said in a low voice, “Lord Best, you truly were a great warrior. May your soul find true peace.”

After saying those words, Francis controlled his emotions. His gaze fell on Austin III on the platform, and with a hint of disdain, he said, “Very well… Your Majesty, your men have lost. Do you intend to admit defeat now? Or is there anyone else who wants to give it a try?”
The entire crowd fell silent, waiting for Austin III’s reply. After all, although Austin III had won the duel between the magicians earlier, in this battle of warriors, Francis had turned the tide in favor of the crown prince—indeed, in an absolute manner.
It could be said that at this moment, all factors were on the crown prince’s side. If Austin III simply said enough, the throne would likely fall into the crown prince’s hands.
At that moment, Austin III stared at Best’s corpse on the ground. A trace of sorrow flashed in his eyes, but it seemed mixed with some satisfaction as well.
Prince Fisher, standing nearby, saw his expression and was about to say something, but after opening his mouth, he said nothing after all.
After staring for a while, Austin III’s gaze returned to Francis, and he said coldly, “Francis, you killed Best. You’re indeed remarkable… But what does it matter if you’re so strong? You won one battle, and we won one too. It’s a draw. What’s there to be so arrogant about?”
Francis glanced at the old emperor, seemingly smiling lightly, then his gaze shifted to the nobles of Prince Fisher’s faction. With a brief sweep, he asked, “Is there anyone else who wants to try?”
No one dared to answer…
After witnessing Francis’s strength, who would dare to step forward and risk their life?
Fight against a Saint-level powerhouse? Ridiculous!
Even the Star Sword Saint couldn’t withstand a few moves from him. What could ordinary people achieve?
At the edge of the training ground, behind the crowd, Duke Green had already placed a hand on the sword at his waist. His gaze was fixed on Francis in the training ground, radiating fierce fighting spirit.
Du Fan stood in front of him, placing a hand on Duke Green’s arm and shaking his head slowly. “Father… it’s better not to.”
Duke Green glanced at his son and said calmly, “What do you mean?”

“We both know, Father…” Du Fan shook his head slightly. “You can never be Francis’s match, and hardly anyone here is either… Since we know the outcome already, why would Father go and risk his life? Even for our Green family, you can’t be so reckless!”
Duke Green sighed and said, “Du Fan, I originally didn’t want to go either… But our Green family has always been loyal through generations—how can we give up at such a moment? Besides, we’re all tied to Prince Fischer’s war chariot now—how can we just watch Prince Fischer fail… Even if I don’t go now, do you think the Crown Prince will spare us? Unless we surrender now, the day we lose our heads will come the moment the Crown Prince seizes the throne! With the Crown Prince’s nature, how could he possibly let those of us who stand with Prince Fischer walk away alive? But asking me to defect at the last moment… I simply can’t do that! Du Fan, after I fail, you must escape as soon as chaos breaks out… Then, even the Crown Prince won’t be able to do anything to you!”
With that, Duke Green drew the sword at his waist. With a clang, his long sword was already pointed in Francis’s direction.
In this utterly quiet training ground, this faint sound of a sword drawing was almost like thunder. All eyes turned to Duke Green, even Austin III on the platform showed a hint of surprise!
Francis seemed to recognize Duke Green as well. Seeing his actions, he smiled slightly and said, “So it’s the Duke… Then, do you want to test my swordsmanship?”
Just as Duke Green was about to reply, Du Fan gritted his teeth and stepped forward, blocking Duke Green’s path. He stood between Francis and Duke Green, then replied calmly, “Lord Francis… Didn’t you just ask if anyone else wanted to give it a try? I think… perhaps I’d like to try it. I want to see what power your Silver Sheath Sword Saint, Francis’s Blood Rose, really has!”