Chapter 798: Chapter 32: The Day of the Duel (Part 2)

“They really pulled it off!” The deputy captain inhaled sharply, “Knight Sara, are you still there? Help me ask the horse!”

The headquarters of the Knight Order was literally in chaos, with flying paper documents turning the hall into a sea of white, and everyone being like grains of rice jumping in this boiling pot of white congee.

The knights had already prepared during their free time before, having cleaned up Shadow Mist City in advance, established law and order, and eliminated all potential threats as much as possible. The old captain and the Dawn Knight even personally went to the theater to supervise Situ Yi in fulfilling his promise – he had agreed with officials to leave the royal city before July.

But when the day came, everyone realized there were still a bunch of sudden issues (as Captain Macrow said: anyway, it’s always like this every year), and everyone was still in chaos. Orianna was being groomed by a group of makeup artists in a corner to give her the “majestic image befitting the Seventh Knight”, but she looked like she wanted to flee; Alandia and the old captain had just patrolled Shadow Mist City to ensure safety, and were now making the final check on defenses; Rakael’s real body had already gone ahead to the scene to prepare, while Knight Yuliy was silently standing beside Gongsun Ce and Mo Yuankai. He heard the deputy captain’s cry for help and turned to look down the right hallway: “Knight Sara!”

“Woof?” A woman’s voice came from the hallway, “Oh! Sorry, didn’t quite shift over.”

A woman with long black hair walked out of the hallway, her hair disheveled, her body hunched, with arms drooping as if she was about to collapse to the ground like some atavistic ghost. She swayed left and right to Yuliy’s side, then leaned on him, sniffing, “Weird, Yuliy, why has your scent become so faint?”

Yuliy’s face turned slightly red, and he held his colleague’s shoulders to make her stand straight, saying sternly, “Get a grip, you’re in your original form now!”

“Awooo?” Sara shook her head like a large dog, the hair covering her face parted to the sides, revealing a coquettish face. She patted her face, suddenly realized: “I was wondering why I couldn’t find my tail… I’m coming, deputy captain!”

Sara hurriedly went to check the deputy captain’s horse, while Yuliy awkwardly coughed twice, turned to see the two Superpower Users showing him subtle smiles.

“I must emphasize it’s not—”

“Got it, got it.” “We understand, we understand!”

Gongsun Ce and Mo Yuankai each patted his shoulders, laughing even more suggestively, leaving the honest knight speechless. Frustrated, he turned around to see the old captain approaching, still holding a speech script, “Your help is needed today, Knight Yuliy.”

“Duty calls,” Yuliy glanced at the speech script, hesitated, “…I also enjoy the leisure.”

“Treat our guests well.” The old captain patted his shoulder and turned to say, “Alright knights, if there’s nothing major, then we shall—”

Yuliy couldn’t help but remind him, “Captain, you’ve got the wrong speech script.”

Macrow was startled: “Oh, heavens! This is the one about eggs from the other day! Gafri, where’s my speech?”

“Hold on, let me finish with my horse first!”

Yuliy glanced at his watch, there were still thirty seconds left before the scheduled departure time. Suddenly, he felt that abandoning the glory of patrolling the entire city to look after two guests wasn’t too bad; at least he didn’t have to rush around like his colleagues. He confirmed the status of the two “honored guests,” with Mo Yuankai encouraging Orianna not to be nervous, and Gongsun Ce distractedly passing around documents, occasionally glancing in the direction of the Dawn Knight.

Knight Alandia finished checking the defensive setup, quickly bid him farewell, and followed the main team away. The black-haired young man answered cheerfully, waving to her until the knight was out of sight before slowly putting down his hand.

After delivering the documents, he watched as the heavily armored knights exited the main gate one by one, and then didn’t seek anyone else to talk to, just standing there quietly, like a tourist who wandered to the wrong sightseeing spot.

Yuliy furrowed his brow, extended his hand, and raised his voice deliberately, “Today I’m in charge of escorting you two, I hope we get along well.”

Gongsun Ce looked up as if regaining his senses and shook his hand, “Come off it, who gets along with you.”

This demeanor made Yuliy feel more pleased, and he tightened his grip, “The feeling’s mutual.”

·

The imperial duel is a major annual event in the Country, with a two-day national holiday. Celebrations are held in major cities across the nation, and the atmosphere is undoubtedly the most enthusiastic in the royal capital, with the knights themself hosting. The Starlight Knights would emulate legends of old, leading cavalry patrols through the royal city, receiving cheers and applause from the people, showcasing the glorious history of the Country.

Such a significant occasion would naturally not be the same without the Dawn Knight, and Mo Yuankai, who had just repaired the Holy Fire Armor, required a high-ranking person within the order to stay as protection to show respect. Knight Yuliy volunteered to fill this gap. Officially he was said to be on guard duty, but in reality, the esteemed guest’s own prowess meant there was no need for protection; the main purpose of the task was to prevent his attendant from having a lapse of judgment and causing chaos within the crowd — after all, Gongsun Ce is a Silent Phase Dragon Species.

To ensure everything was judged correctly, Yuliy specifically inquired about his colleagues’ opinions of this person. Knight Rakael thought he was okay, but immature; Sara said he was quite an interesting child; Knight Gafri said he could become an excellent civil servant; while Knight Orianna said he was a “very capable Superpower User”…

This was the only comment Yuliy couldn’t comprehend; he couldn’t find anything remarkable about Gongsun Ce. This young man behaved flamboyantly and was emotionally unstable, with a gaze that wandered unsteadily when not conversing with others, as if just a slight distraction would cause him to float away like a balloon. He was just an ungrown child, a teenager plagued with melancholy over a lack of achievements, immature and fragile.