"Ha, we don’t mind a fight. A pleasant opening act for our expedition."

The female Knight with sky-blue hair spoke. Mephit’s sharp gaze darted between Mivana and Westheid. She rested her Knight’s Silver Sword on her delicate collarbone, tilting her head to hold it in place with her neck as a dangerous, bloodthirsty smile spread across her face:

"Because that Beastman mongrel... I have to kill her. And I’ll kill anyone who dares to stand in my way."

"You are... oh, Mephit of the Zitherheart Clan. Viona’s younger sister."

Westheid looked at the female Knight who had just threatened to scatter Mivana’s ashes and recognized her at once.

In the *Poem of Destiny*, the country Westheid knew best was the Country of Yonglan. There weren’t many major players within it, but Mephit happened to be one of them.

In the original storyline, she was even one of the few Grand Knights to survive the slaughter brought by the Heaven-Devouring Wave. She had some real caliber, at least enough for Westheid to remember her.

"!!!"

Hearing about Mephit’s background, Mivana’s eyes went wide as she stared at her.

The Wolf-eared Maiden knew Teacher Viona came from a famous and noble family, but this was the first time she had ever met one of Viona’s blood relatives.

’She doesn’t seem... very much like Teacher Viona.’

"Don’t you dare compare me to her!"

Mephit overheard Mivana’s quiet mutter. The blue-haired Knight let out a sharp, shrill cry, her purple eyes turning bone-chillingly cold.

Westheid had a good idea why Mephit was so angry, but this was not the time for conversation. He turned his gaze to the others.

"Though I, Westheid, have killed countless people in my life, I do not enjoy fighting. I prefer to resolve conflicts! There may be some misunderstandings between us. Why don’t we talk things over and agree to disagree? What do you say?"

Uther sighed and said,

"This affair was originally none of your concern, but it seems Duke Qinghui is determined to see it through to the end."

"I can’t help it. I can’t just abandon Mivana. She’s an important partner to me."

Mivana quietly corrected him, "A mating partner..."

Westheid froze for a moment, then shrugged.

"Right, a mating partner... In any case, this conflict is ultimately a trivial matter. There’s no need to make such a scene."

"A trivial matter?"

Lionette stepped forward. With the support of the Grand Knights behind him, he had all the confidence he needed to furiously berate the Wolf-eared Maiden.

"This beast ran rampant in my territory, slaughtered the Knights under my command, and trampled upon my dignity! And you call that a trivial matter?!"

The old Knight’s words immediately garnered support, and several other Knights chimed in to agree.

"Elder Li was once a Hero of Yonglan! He made great contributions during the expeditions."

"The Hero, Elder Li, should not be subjected to such an insult!"

"Justice must be served!"

"How could she possibly insult a Knight Lord and expect to get away unscathed!"

"..."

The Knight Country might not be entirely harmonious internally, but everyone was extremely sensitive when it came to matters of honor and shame. To Knights, honor was paramount, and a grave insult was more terrifying than death or the extinction of one’s clan.

Faced with the chorus of condemnation, Mivana didn’t waver in the slightest. Instead, she lowered her eyes, grinding her canines, her golden irises filled with cold indifference.

"They... deserved to die."

"Those who betray the Path of the Knight... deserve to be killed."

After the slaughter, Mivana might feel lost and sad... but she would never feel regret. She would never wallow in self-pity over her choices.

She would bear the consequences with composure.

"Ha! Betray the Path of the Knight? Since when does a beast like you get to interpret the Knightly Path!"

Lionette was so angry he laughed. His hand was already on his sword hilt, and he took a step forward, ready to draw and strike at any moment.

Mivana showed no weakness, drawing her Silver Sword to face Lionette head-on.

Seeing the tense, sword-drawn atmosphere, Westheid interrupted in a loud voice,

"Since there is such a conflict between both sides, simple mediation is probably useless."

He stood right in the middle of the two groups before finally revealing the purpose he had been setting up for so long.

"I propose a trial by combat."

"Let the sacred Law from ancient times decide!"

The moment his voice fell, the scene went silent. Only the howling, cold wind swept past, carrying snowflakes with it.

"Trial by combat?"

Mephit raised an eyebrow and said,

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

Trial by combat was a tradition in the Country of Yonglan. When two Knight Lords had a dispute and lacked a strong mediator or arbiter, they could resolve it through duels.

After all, infighting was not an act encouraged by the Divine Ancestor. Simply gathering troops and slaughtering each other until rivers of blood flowed was clearly too extreme and didn’t fit the definition of a Realm of Order.

But Knights were hot-tempered. They wouldn’t play political games with you; they preferred to settle things directly with the form of communication they understood best.

Might is right! The victor is justice!

Whichever side is stronger is the side that is right!

"It’s the only way. The alternative is war, which is not a good idea for either of us."

Westheid said flatly, "Although the Riding God is long gone, I believe the honor of the Knight Country still remains. Or are you saying you don’t dare to fulfill such an oath?!"

"No, what I mean is, Duke Qinghui, are you sure you want the Lord of Dusk Lamp Territory to undergo a trial by combat?"

Mephit lifted her pretty chin and smiled.

"This Beastman hasn’t even reached the Grand Knight Tier. Are you gambling that no one among us is willing to step up?"

The process of a trial by combat was not a simple one-on-one. Both Lords would bring their own champions to fight in a series of one-on-one duels to the death, continuing until one side completely submitted.

The Knight Lord didn’t have to fight personally; they could entrust the duel to someone else.

That’s right. If your connections were strong enough to find a Legendary Grand Knight, you could declare victory right then and there.

Because the world isn’t about fighting and killing; it’s about connections and favors!

The gap between a Legend and a non-Legend was an almost insurmountable chasm... at least, under normal circumstances.

Mephit twirled a strand of her shoulder-length blue hair around her finger again and again, then continued,

"...But if she were to reveal her Monster nature, that would be quite tricky. In that case, she’d become a public enemy of Yonglan, and everyone would have the right to execute her. I’m sure Duke Qinghui wouldn’t want things to develop to that point, would he?"

"Of course. That’s something none of us want to see."

Westheid nodded frankly. After turning to exchange a look with Mivana, he said,

"For any fight below the Legendary level, Mivana is more than enough."

"And if any of you Grand Knights wish to seek justice for the Lord of Jinquan Territory, then I shall be your opponent."

Duke Qinghui spread his arms and said slowly.

"You?"

The Knight Lords looked at Westheid with suspicion.

"Duke Qinghui, you just entered the Legendary Tier, yet you think you can match a Grand Knight? Or did you compare yourself to the inferior knock-offs made by the Imperial and come to this confident conclusion?"

The Black Knight stroked the engravings on his Armor and said nonchalantly,

"If that’s the case, then you’re truly underestimating us."

"Don’t worry, I know the quality of a Yonglan Knight better than any of you."

Westheid ground his teeth, feeling his patience wear thin. He had wanted to be more courteous, as he didn’t want to make a true mortal enemy, but his Cursed Source Blood was already starting to affect him. The restless bloodline just wanted to fight, to vent its battlelust.

’Screw it, I’m done holding back!’

So he drew Shadow-Born from its sheath and pointed the blade at the Knight Lords.

"Fine, let me be blunt."

"I am going to protect Mivana and Dusk Lamp Territory. If anyone has a problem with that, I’ll beat them until they don’t."

"Don’t get me wrong. I’m not targeting anyone in particular. I’m saying that every single one of you here is trash."

"..."

’Holy shit, he’s insane!’

It wasn’t just the Knight Lords; even Reiya and Mivana, who already knew what Westheid was planning, thought he was being unbelievably arrogant.

The Yonglan Knights didn’t even shout in anger; they were simply stunned by a provocation the likes of which they had almost never encountered before.

Many of the Knight Lords couldn’t help but search their memories, wondering if they had ever been insulted to such a degree.

After a moment of silence, a burly, powerful Knight stepped out from the ranks. He was covered from head to toe in exaggerated, dark brown Heavy Armor. Every inch of it seemed to shimmer with a heavy, steady, vaporous glow, making it look impregnable. The Knight himself looked like a constructed colossus.

"Arrogant brat. Everyone, leave this fight to me. I’ll teach this young man who just entered the Legendary Celestial Rank what humility and deference mean... and the price for insulting a Yonglan Knight."