Sovereign of the Ashes

Chapter 570: Battle of Rank Two

For some proud women, certain subjects might be appropriate for them to initiate, but not for others.

It was acceptable for her to call off the wedding, but had the suggestion come from the other party, she would have been deeply offended.

The female knight named Natalya was precisely this type of woman.

With the logical mindset typical of mages, Natalya's decision to call off the wedding and Sein’s agreement seemed a straightforward solution.

Both parties were satisfied, each achieving their objectives.

However, Natalya was not a mage but a knight, known for her quick temper and impulsive nature.

Unsurprisingly, Natalya did not take Sein’s concurrence well.

Her brow furrowed and her expression darkened with displeasure as she snapped, “What? You think I’m not good enough for you?!”

Upon hearing her question and the displeasure in her tone, Sein had to suppress his urge to crack open her skull to see what was inside it.

He was not an extremely patient person. Despite his calm demeanor, he felt a rising irritation at the female knight’s confrontational attitude and tone of questioning.

The change in his behavior toward others did not mean that his darker nature, typical of black mages, had completely disappeared.

Confronted by the female knight’s questioning tone, Sein replied coldly, “I’m not interested in you. The wedding is off. Whatever House Grantt said does not reflect my opinion!”

With that, Sein turned and left without looking back.

Although the red-haired knight was usually unperceptive, she could still distinguish between calmness and indifference in someone’s tone.

Sein’s abrupt change of expression and shift in tone caused the usually proud knight to falter.

She had arrived in a fury, intending to call off the marriage against her family’s wishes and vent some frustration.

Yet, upon arriving, instead of releasing her anger, she felt as if she were punching cotton.

What? Not interested in me? Do you realize that the line of men vying for my attention could stretch from the Franca Empire to the Osmore Dukedom?!

Natalya, the red-haired knight, had been recognized as an exceptional prodigy since birth.

If not for the recent demands of the Order of the Steel Fist, she might have had the chance to travel to the Knight Continent for trials.

Growing up, a woman like her had faced few significant challenges.

After Sein's dismissal, Natalya seemed to have forgotten the original purpose of her visit.

A low hum filled the air as the massive sword vibrated behind Sein.

A chilling wind swept through.

Sensing danger, Sein instantly activated his elemental body.

The massive sword, several meters long, narrowly missed Sein’s pyro elemental form and plunged into the ground, its sword qi carving a deep gully in the fortress camp.

“What are you doing?” Sein, now in his elemental body, turned to confront the knight in mid-air, his ghostly green elemental eyes signaling his worsening mood.

Previously, Sein had restrained himself with this woman, but now he was tempted to pin her to the experimental table and slap the daylights out of her!

After her futile attempt to harm Sein, Natalya’s fury seemed somewhat quelled.

She had pulled her punch; the strike could have gravely injured a mere Rank One mage, but it was not lethal.

Natalya’s bold move to attack a mage during the interplanar war demonstrated her readiness to face the consequences, including severe punishments from her order that would alleviate the pressure her family and parents exerted on her.

After all, her parents loved her—how could they wish her dead?

This was her plan all along—to make Sein suffer alone. Not only would his marriage be ruined, but he would also be beaten up by his fiancee.

However, from the moment she confronted Sein, nothing seemed to go right for Natalya.

Even now, her mind was still reeling.

She froze, staring at Sein, whose body had transformed into flames. Confusion took over her as she blurted out, “Aren’t you a Rank One mage? When did you get promoted to Rank Two?”

“What a foolish woman! You will pay for your actions,” Sein replied coldly.

Despite the raging flames of his body, his demeanor was icy cold.

FOOOM!

Heatwaves erupted from Sein, surging into the sky and radiating in all directions.

This was Sein’s first battle since his promotion to Rank Two!

He had no intention of sparing the female knight before him.

Even if he ended up killing her, Sein could justify his action as self-defense; after all, she was the one who initiated the fight.

The intense heat from the pyro element particles finally snapped the Rank Two knight out of her daze.

Natalya happened to wield pyro-attribute battle qi as well.

Their union could have produced an offspring with a formidable bloodline.

However, at this moment, they appeared more like enemies than betrothed partners.

During his duel with Natalya, Sein chose not to use his Verdant Flame Heart Rod or Verdant Flame Eye Mask.

For Sein, bullying a woman was beneath him, and he was keen to test his newly enhanced capabilities as a Rank Two mage.

Verdant flames erupted from his hands without any need for incantations or channeling of focus.

In his elemental body form, he was the flame itself!

A large expanse of verdant flames surged from Sein, streaking across the sky toward Natalya.

As an esteemed Rank Two Land Knight, Natalya certainly had much to be proud of.

Her three-meter-long black sword, augmented by her battle qi, instantly extended to five meters.

The sharpness of the battle qi on the surface of her blade could injure enemies up to ten meters away, demonstrating that knights in the Magus World also possessed area-of-effect abilities.

However, their range was limited to a specific radius around themselves, unlike mages who could target enemies from much greater distances.

The clash of fiery powers brought the long-quiet Thunder Marsh camp back to life!

Knights were mostly busybodies drawn to spectacles, particularly those recuperating in the Thunder Marsh camp.

Many, even those hobbling on crutches, crowded at the windows, captivated by the rare sight.

The wards, typically dull, buzzed with excitement as the live battle offered a diversion far surpassing any mere conversation.

While most knights in the camp did not recognize Sein, having been recently transferred here, they all knew of Natalya, who was battling him.

Rank Two Land Knight Natalya was a celebrated figure, known as the pride of the Order of the Steel Fist and the jewel of House Ernst.

Although Natalya was an average-looking plain Jane to Sein, she was undoubtedly the best-looking to the other male knights.

There was even a Sky Knight from another order who had once declared his affection for Natalya, only to be rebuffed by the quick-tempered female knight.

Her reason for rejecting the Rank Three Sky Knight was quite amusing—she found him too old!

“You’re hundreds of years older than even my father, how dare you even consider marrying me?” This was Natalya’s sharp retort at the time.

Humiliated, the Sky Knight hastily fled the scene.

This incident had the knights of the Order of the Steel Fist in stitches.

Had House Ernst not intervened to suppress the news, the story might have spread to even the less influential knight houses like House Grantt.

This episode further cemented Natalya’s reputation as a rose with thorns, deterring any knight of sound mind from pursuing her.

The challenge in finding Natalya a suitable match lay in the fact that any knight worthy of her standards was wary of her fiery disposition, while those who fell short were simply not to her liking.

Thus, the search for her partner remained unresolved.

The Rank Two battle unfolding in the Thunder Marsh camp added a layer of excitement for the nearly thousand knights recuperating there.

Driven by boredom, some knights even began placing bets on the outcome.

“Natalya’s gonna win!” declared a burly knight with a bandaged head, slamming a fistful of magicoins on the table.

Another short and thin knight chuckled mischievously as he placed an even larger bet on the opposite side of the table.

“I’m betting on the mage.”

He was one of the few who recognized Sein and had witnessed him defeating a Rank Two green-skinned Garth on the battlefield more than a year ago.

“You’re a shrewd one; you wouldn’t bet on the other side without good reason! No, no, I gotta switch sides!” exclaimed the knight with a bandaged head, realizing his oversight.

However, his action immediately sparked an uproar and dissent among the surrounding knights.