THUD—

Just as Brolette had been unable to react to Westheid’s knee strike, the Rock Sword was equally unable to respond to the lightning-fast elbow strike. This Grand Knight was renowned for his defense, but his other shortcomings were quite significant—at least for a Legendary Celestial Rank.

Even though he had been prepared and consciously tried to defend with his Arm Armor, Westheid’s elbow had already slammed viciously into his chest.

The immense impact sent Brolette flying, crashing straight into the small mountain beside the fortress.

"PFFT—!"

Brolette coughed up another mouthful of dark blood. A steel-like film immediately covered his body as blue veins bulged and popped across his skin.

That single elbow strike had nearly triggered the passive effect of his Yonglan Blood.

When Westheid teleported in front of the Grand Knight again and threw another punch, Brolette’s eyes widened in fury. He managed to duck his head to the side, dodging the blow, and even let out a low roar as he swept out with his own clenched right fist.

Duke Qinghui blocked it nonchalantly. Feeling the power contained within the punch, he sighed and said:

"As expected of a Knight who has drunk from the Holy Grail. It’s not so easy to kill you in one shot."

But Westheid wasn’t surprised. A key characteristic of the Knight Path was that its practitioners only entered their truly powerful stage when near death.

This was especially true for many Grand Knights of the Legendary Tier.

Because any Legendary Grand Knight who had advanced through the proper process possessed a truly overpowered Legendary Talent.

[Blessed Chalice]

[Traverse the Knight’s Trial to its very end, and be granted the Holy Grail. Within it lies the blood of the Riding God; within it lies the spirit of Yonglan.]

[Drink from the Holy Grail, and thou shalt not know defeat. Thou shalt traverse the storm, and only victory shall await—victory upon victory.]

[Taking or dealing damage increases All Attributes. The more grievous the injuries, the greater the increase in recovery speed and status resistance.]

[If one refrains from battle for too long, or fails to achieve a single victory, one will enter a weakened state with reduced All Attributes.]

In Westheid’s opinion, [Blessed Chalice] was pure protagonist plot armor. The reason other Paths cursed Yonglan Knights as stat monsters was because these bastards were just unreasonable. They didn’t have any special mechanics to speak of; their stats were just absurdly high.

’Good thing I’m a skill-based Hero, not some stat monster.’

As Westheid thought this, he clamped a hand around Brolette’s wrist and once again drove an elbow forward. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

BANG—

A dull thud echoed through flesh and bone. The aftershock of the elbow strike radiated into the small mountain, causing hideous cracks to spread across the rocky, snow-covered peak. Then, with a great creaking groan, it began to collapse. Countless boulders tumbled down, only to be pulverized and shattered above the dueling pair.

However, this level of destruction drew no special attention. Legendary Powerhouses were walking natural disasters. What was so strange about shattering a mountain?

’First, you wipe the floor with them to see what they’re made of.’

Westheid dragged the Grand Knight’s stiffened body out from the rubble, tossed him away without a shred of mercy, and said flatly:

"You’re a bit behind the times. Your equipment, your Combat Techniques—they’re all outdated. With skills like these, you think you’re worthy of competing on the same stage as me?"

Westheid felt that for a Legendary Powerhouse, Brolette wasn’t even as durable as Mivana. At least she could take two of his full-power elbow strikes without losing consciousness.

If Mivana could still fight back, using the recovery and resilience from her [Cursed Source Blood], she could have actually held her own against Westheid for a while.

’The value of a Tier T0 Talent just keeps rising! It’s already surpassed the power boost from reaching the Legendary Tier.’

Recovering from his paralysis, Brolette was overcome with shame and fury, letting out a beast-like roar:

"Shut up! How dare you humiliate me to this extent! I’ll kill you! I’ll definitely kill you!"

"Humiliate you? Weren’t you the one who was going to teach me a lesson? Why are you the one getting all worked up?"

Westheid laughed loudly and strode before Brolette. The man’s sturdy Heavy Armor was almost completely shattered, with only a few fragments left clinging to his body. But how could mere man-made Armor possibly compare to a body honed by years of training?

A rock-solid Phantom Shield covered his powerful muscles. When Westheid’s next punch struck it, the shield rippled but, surprisingly, did not shatter.

However, before Brolette could even show a triumphant smile, Westheid seized his neck in a Heartless Iron Hand.

His indigo eyes were cold and savage.

"Until you bow your head and admit defeat, I really will beat you to death."

CRUNCH— CRUNCH— CRUNCH—

Duke Qinghui slammed the man’s head into the ground, dragging the Grand Knight’s body across the earth like a heavy plow tilling a field.

Amidst the swirling ice and snow, Brolette’s head was repeatedly hammered against the ground, sending flesh and blood flying.

Without using his Destructive Dragon Thunder, without summoning the Flame of Extinction, without even gathering his own Glowing Radiance, Westheid was crushing his opponent with pure, unadulterated stats.

The Rock Sword was a perfect target for making a statement; there was no need to show any mercy while brutalizing him.

Because Brolette was a pure-blooded Racial Knight who would never allow a Beastman to stand above him. In other words, if Westheid wanted to undertake the pilgrimage and claim the title of Knight King, he would have to eliminate these die-hard opponents.

’The nation I build will have no place for discrimination. Everyone should be my devoted fan; there’s no room for words that undermine unity!’

Duke Qinghui appreciated the overflowing martial spirit of the Yonglan Knights, but Westheid disliked the extreme xenophobia of the Country of Yonglan.