My Ex-Girlfriend Was Appointed as a Knight Commander

Chapter 132

Javier Franco.

Maxime vividly recalled that knight's brutal skill, seen in the preliminary rounds and previous main matches. His sword strikes showed no mercy. Each time one of his duels ended, the arena floor was smeared with the blood of his opponents.

The referee remained silent even as flesh was sliced by Javier’s blade. While the wounds he inflicted weren’t large enough to aim for his opponents' lives, they were never targeted in a way that suggested he was intentionally trying to cripple them either.

"Guess this is perfect timing since I didn’t like him anyway."

Dennis’s lips curled up in a smile as he tapped the tournament bracket with his fingertip, but his eyes held a chilling coldness. Maxime looked at Dennis with concern. Although Dennis's skills were not noticeably inferior to Javier Franco’s, Maxime knew that with equally matched opponents, one could never be too careful.

"Why are you looking at me with that worried face? It’s creepy."

Dennis frowned, waving his hand dismissively at Maxime, who couldn't help but retort with frustration.

"Wouldn’t you worry too if that guy were my opponent?"

"Hey, worrying about juniors is a senior's privilege, kid. Who do you think you are, worrying about me? I should be the one wondering if you’ll even make it to the semifinals."

Dennis grumbled but then grinned. The cold look he’d shown upon seeing Javier Franco’s name had already vanished.

"Whatever tricks that guy tries to pull, I’ll beat him. I’m stronger than you think."

Dennis tapped the lily emblem sewn on the inner pocket of his coat. As a royal guard, he had the confidence to face anyone in the kingdom without fear. His voice held a trace of wounded pride, making Maxime feel a bit apologetic.

"So stop looking so gloomy unless you want to weigh down someone about to fight."

"...I’m sorry."

Trying to lighten the mood, Dennis stretched and turned around.

"Let’s go grab a bite. We can complain about the bracket that’ll have us face each other in the semifinals."

Maxime glanced once more at the tournament bracket, nodding slowly. This arrangement was likely due to Bening's manipulation. A bracket designed to send Theodora straight to the finals and eliminate troublesome knights early. As Maxime clicked his tongue in frustration, Dennis shrugged as if to say it didn’t matter.

"If we meet in the semifinals, don’t expect me to hold back. I may have entered under suspicious circumstances, but as long as I’m here, I want a shot at winning."

Dennis looked at Maxime seriously, and Maxime realized that the emotion in his eyes wasn’t a desire to win but a competitive spark directed at him. Smiling lightly, Maxime replied.

"It won’t be easy, senior. Practice and actual combat are two different things."

"Such confidence from someone who’s never even experienced my blade. That confidence might as well pierce the sky."

Dennis laughed, quickening his pace.

"Let’s go get some meat. Before anything important, you need to eat well."

"Are you paying?"

"Do you think you’ve done something worth me treating you? Beat me in the semifinals, and I’ll buy you a meal. Win the whole thing, and I’ll buy you one more."

With that, Dennis walked ahead, and after watching him for a moment, Maxime shook his head and hurried to follow.

==

"How did it go?"

Leon Bening asked, turning to the witch. Lilia, wearing a bored expression, lightly prodded Javier’s temples as he sat, nearly lifeless. Javier’s head bobbed back and forth like a pendulum under her touch.

"As you ordered, I broadened the curse’s range and reinforced his body with dark magic. He’ll feel no pain, and mana won’t run out. His body will operate beyond human limits."

Stepping away from Javier, Lilia turned to Leon Bening.

"Was all this really necessary? Spells like these aren’t ideal unless it’s for disposable pawns."

"He’s a disposable pawn. This puppet’s skills fall short of Dennis Amber’s, so I’ll use any means necessary to ensure victory."

Leon Bening’s cold gaze fell on Javier Franco. Javier's nature, combined with the magic Lilia used, had turned him into a killing machine.

Ten years ago, he had been an infamous pleasure killer, a rogue knight who eventually landed in Leon Bening’s clutches, becoming nothing more than a puppet with the name Javier Franco. After being used for various unsavory tasks, Javier would be disposed of following this tournament.

Despite his skills, he was a liability; keeping him around could eventually expose Leon. Bening gripped Javier’s head, his eyes devoid of any emotion as he looked down at him.

Eliminate Dennis Amber, the royal guard.

A fatal accident in a duel was always plausible. Any deaths within the tournament were considered the individual’s responsibility. While his own reputation might take a slight hit, he could afford that. It was a perfect chance to sever ties cleanly.

No, what mattered was the next part.

Upon hearing of Dennis Amber’s death, Arsen Bern might react. And if he did, that would open the opportunity to eliminate him as well. Taking out two promising royal guards in one swoop would be a worthwhile gain.

Leon released his grip on Javier’s head. The clarity returned to Javier’s eyes, and he looked at Leon with a twisted expression.

"You called for me, Count?"

The Count, in a flat voice, issued his command to Javier Franco.

"Kill Dennis Amber in the quarterfinals. Inflict a fatal wound on him before he can even think to surrender."

Not that he would likely surrender anyway.

Leon Bening smirked darkly to himself.

A chilling bloodlust radiated from Javier’s blade, devoid of any emotion save for a faint sense of pleasure hidden behind it.

I can’t let this guy anywhere near Arsen.

Now Dennis had another reason not to lose. He summoned his resolve, matching Javier’s sinister aura with his own, as if their clashing intent was a silent, invisible duel.

The winter wind blew again, tension rising. As the crowd’s cheers and jeers reached their peak, the referee finally raised his hand.

"Match, begin!"

Boom—

Dennis took the initiative, lunging forward with a strike aimed at disrupting Javier’s stance. Javier’s blade wavered dangerously as he blocked Dennis’s assault.

Don’t let him push you. Use his long sword’s reach against him.

Dennis adjusted his grip, resisting the urge to push, which allowed Javier’s blade to slice through empty air. Dennis waited for the slightest opening and drove his sword in to exploit it.

Crack.

A grinding noise filled the air as Javier's sword clashed with Dennis's, blocking his advance. Dennis’s attempt to follow through was stopped as Javier’s blade rose, aiming to slice his wrist.

Clang!

Dennis managed to block the attempt with a surge of strength, and they reset the distance between them. After just one exchange, the crowd’s excitement burned like a furnace. Dennis shook his wrist, feeling the strain from deflecting Javier’s attack.

"Your face shows... discomfort."

Javier spoke with a voice brimming with twisted enjoyment. Dennis chuckled dryly, raising his sword again.

"At least keep your thoughts to yourself."

Javier smirked, lowering his stance, and sprinted forward. His arms moved like whips, unleashing a sharp strike. This was the technique that had left so many opponents bleeding on the floor.

Clang!

Dennis blocked the first attack effortlessly, but Javier’s sword had no weight. Instead, it swept downward, continuing to carve through the air as he advanced. His sword craved flesh, ignoring whatever counterattack his opponent might attempt.

"—!"

The quick, sinister swordplay showed why his previous opponents had spilled so much blood. Dennis, however, read his moves without retreating. To step back now would only open himself up to Javier’s long reach.

Forward.

Dennis took a step closer. Amused, Javier grinned and thrust his sword. Dennis evaded the attacks narrowly, letting them graze him rather than blocking directly.

Dennis swung his blade from below, targeting Javier’s body, but Javier leaned back, evading with eerie flexibility. His arm moved as if it had a life of its own, relentlessly pursuing Dennis.

"Is this really a duel?"

"Those two won’t realize the danger until one of them gets seriously hurt."

The crowd held its breath as the two knights exchanged blows at close range. Rather than the sound of clashing swords, they could only hear the blades slicing through the air. Javier’s sword missed Dennis, and Dennis’s powerful strikes narrowly brushed past Javier’s legs.

They hadn’t struck each other yet, but every move was a gamble with their lives. Dennis’s cold, focused face contrasted sharply with Javier’s grotesque, twisted grin.

"Senior Dennis is strong."

Maxime murmured in admiration, and Charlotte nodded in agreement, though her face held both hope and worry as she watched Dennis intently.

"Dennis is powerful. He’s one of the strongest in our royal guard."

Charlotte, watching Dennis’s movements, spoke as if in prayer. Even as they talked, Dennis continued his fierce exchange with Javier. Neither of them gave an inch. The razor-edge tension of their duel remained unbroken.

"Please, win, Dennis."

Charlotte whispered, her words barely audible. Then,

Boom!

A jarring sound, unlike anything heard in the duel, echoed. Javier Franco tumbled, rolling across the arena floor, but quickly found his footing and stood up again.

"Did Javier get pushed back?"

"It seems Dennis had the upper hand after all."

As the audience buzzed with excitement, someone’s sharp shout cut through.

"No, look over there!"

The crowd’s eyes shifted from Javier Franco to Dennis.

"That..."

The unusual sound was not from a regular clash of swords, but the unmistakable hum of mana, the sound only an aura-infused blade could produce. A sky-blue aura now enveloped Dennis’s blade.

Drip.

Dennis instinctively touched his cheek. Blood trickled from a cut on his face. His cold eyes bore into his opponent. Across from him, Javier Franco, grinning madly, watched Dennis with a blade now coated in aura and caked with dust, a twisted smile spreading as he spoke in a chilling voice.

"You're bleeding."