The First Magic World War

Charles had, after all, worked in the Fars Empire's Central Government Office for two years and was familiar with the various official procedures of the Empire.

Being quite cunning, he prepared three copies of a duel letter "with legal effect" and had sent someone to Mostar Fortress in advance to request Lady Southseraph and the Augusladin High Priest act as witnesses for the duel.

The Duchess and the High Priest gladly signed their names and sent the document back, and only then did Charles send the duel letter to Cyrus's camp.

Cyrus made a few changes to the letter and suggested a third witness, Vigo, a Sacred Order Knight of South Ceraph. Charles didn't mind, agreed to Cyrus's amendments and the third witness, and once all the documents were in the hands of the concerned parties, the formalities of the duel were completed.

Early the next morning, the Grand Duchess, the High Priest, and even Baron Fabolais climbed up to the battlements to watch the fight, ready to cheer for Charles.

Although Baron Fabolais had some complaints about not being asked to be a witness, he was still quite excited, muttering incessantly, "Kill those Southseraphs, they stole my money, my paintings, and even my furniture..."

"Cyrus, you won't die a good death."

"No one can steal my possessions and go unpunished. I curse you to die at Charles's hand."

"Go on, Charles, as long as you kill the thief who stole my property, I'll speak to my sister afterwards and get you promoted."

Charles had broken through three military camps, and Cyrus was no longer besieging Mostar Fortress. He had gathered all his troops together, but for those inside Mostar Fortress, the situation hadn't changed at all; they didn't dare to flee the city.

By noon, Charles arrived under the walls of Mostar Fortress with his own direct troops, Dobin, The Yellow Bear, Anatasiya, The Spotted Deer Gwen, The Wind Wolf Bankcroft, and eighteen Hunchback Red Bear Warriors.

Charles was ready to slay Cyrus under the walls of Mostar Fortress.

Cyrus, too, brought numerous leaders of the South Ceraph Reclamation Army to the foot of Mostar Fortress.

Both sides harbored deep hatred and had no intention of wasting words when Lady Southseraph, delicate as she was, called out from atop the city, "Today, Charles Meklen and..."

A rude voice interrupted the Grand Duchess's speech, shouting, "Not Cyrus! It is I who will duel with Charles, the murderer."

"I am Zolman of the South Ceraph Restoration Army, the man who will ultimately bury the Behemoth Duchy."

"Charles Meklen, do you have any last words?"

Zolman's words greatly boosted the morale of the Restoration Army, as they cheered. Many knew of Zolman's strength and believed he could kill Charles to avenge Jonathan.

The death of Jonathan at Charles's hands was an unacceptable affront to the people of South Ceraph.

Every South Ceraph wished to kill him in vengeance for their leader.

This was Charles's second official duel in his life.

He was utterly unaware that his opponent had been switched.

Facing Zolman, a South Ceraph Restoration Army officer who was in his fifties but still as vigorous as a youth, Charles couldn't help but retort, "Who are you?"

Zolman was furious and exclaimed, "You dare not know my name?"

Zolman in Southseraph, and even in the Empire, was indeed a renowned figure. After all, he was only second to Jonathan in the Restoration Army. If it weren't for his age, Jonathan might not have handed over the Restoration Army to Cyrus.

Charles was utterly confused; he hadn't even heard of Jonathan, so how could he know Zolman?

He couldn't understand why Zolman would fly into a rage simply because Charles hadn't heard his name, and he added fuel to the fire by saying, "It would be just as well if you didn't know my name either."

Zolman was especially angry, exceptionally so.

Charles looked genuinely sincere, not lying—it was the truth that he didn't know the name Zolman, but Zolman knew Charles Mecklen! The high-ranking officers of the South Ceraph Reclamation Army almost all had a dossier on Charles.

This fact made Zolman even angrier, and he bellowed, "I am your dueling opponent, let us have a duel to the death."

All of Charles's strategies had been prepared for Cyrus, and once used, they might not be effective again. He was very annoyed and had no desire to duel Zolman in public. Charles waved his hand for his subordinates to bring over the dueling document, looked over it carefully for a while, and discovered that Cyrus had changed a few words, thus altering the dueling party in the document to a vague South Ceraph officer.

He couldn't help but curse under his breath, "These natives have even started to play tricks with the documents."

What Charles didn't know was that there was infighting within the South Ceraph Reclamation Army as well; there were people who did not want Cyrus to have too much prestige. His reputation had been rising recently, and if he lost to Cyrus in a duel, Cyrus would, figuratively speaking, be stepping on his head, escalating his fame enough to suppress much of the opposition within the Restoration Army.

The three noble figures on the walls of Mostar Fort, the Duchess and Baron Fabolais, all looked at each other, not understanding what Lady Southseraph was up to.
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The Augusladin High Priest, on the other hand, watched with interest. Initially, he had no interest in this duel; Charles, though somewhat extraordinary, was after all just a mid-level Transcendent.

Only a handful of people knew this, and within the South Ceraph Reclamation Army, only Cyrus was aware. But no one believed that Charles's ascension to mid-level would change anything. Cyrus did not even remind Zolman, as he deemed it unimportant.

Zolman broke out from the crowd on Mostar Fort and loudly cursed, accusing Charles of being a coward who dared not enter the dueling field.

Charles waited for more than ten minutes before finally stepping into the dueling ring, saying, "I always thought my opponent would be Cyrus."

"Could it be that the infighting within the South Ceraph Reclamation Army is this severe?"

"Has Cyrus actually sent you here to die on purpose?"

Zolman was furious. He had indeed been intimidated by Charles's military achievements, but after learning that Charles was merely a lower-ranked Transcendent and even reading in the dossier about his early years of running naked through the streets, he held Charles in even greater contempt.

Zolman shouted, "Today, I will beat you into running naked."

He thought this was a potent humiliation.

Charles indeed turned ashen, looking at Cyrus, who simply shrugged and said nothing. To him, this was a necessary sacrifice for the unity of the South Serif people, although it cost Charles his privacy. He still felt no guilt.

Charles took a deep breath and consoled himself, "Perhaps these old news may prevent me from marrying Anne, but I now hold a decent position and don't necessarily have to live off a woman's support."

"Today, all these bastards must die."

"Even if it means summoning the Evil God, I can't allow them to live."

In an instant, Charles adjusted his mindset, drew the Blood Rose, his fighting spirit blazing like fierce fire.