Clank!

The swords of the two warriors clashed, sending sparks of fire all around them.

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On one side, a beautiful brown-haired girl with tattoos lining one side of her neck and cheek, and on another, a muscular, bald, and dark-skinned man.

Both of them gripped their sword and shield tight, and from a glance, it was clear both pairs of weapons were of similar quality. They faced each other in a duel so ferocious, to the point dust clouds form every time they push against each other.

Clank!

The duel was between the two captains, Astrid the barbarian and Gazef the Arcadian.

Gazef swung his sword in a threatening manner, showing off the thin red aura on his skin. He was using his [Power Up] battle art to increase his strength. Meanwhile, Astrid's tattoos glowed bright blue, an indication that she was using her [Berserk] battle art.

In terms of battle art, it appears Astrid's [Berserk] is one step higher than her opponent. It results in her getting some extra battle power in order to match Gazef's strength.

It was clear that both of them are experienced fighters, but they have a very different approach to fighting. Astrid focused on the offensive, she didn't just use her shield for defense, she also used it in combination with the sword as a sort of blunt weapon. Meanwhile, Gazef fought more defensively, he moved with purpose and there was no wasted action. One was fierce, and the other calm.

After a while, Astrid slowed down, seemingly losing stamina. Gazef took his chance and started to move faster, to pressure her until she lost the grace of her footwork. When the Caerleon head guard was about to use his finishing move, Astrid suddenly leapt forward, barely dodging the sword. Right as she landed, the tip of her sword touched Gazef's back.

"You lose!" The female barbarian said.

Clap! Clap! Clap!

"Woohoo! Girl power!" Herrera, the fire magician, stood next to Tristan and cheered after watching the duel.

Both Astrid and Gazef turned to face Tristan. Gazef's expression is one of confusion. He had seen Astrid's skills in battle before, and now, within the span of one night, that woman was able to outright defeat him.

Tristan nodded at the two of them, satisfied with the result of their battle, and told the confused headguard to return to his post.

Right after the guy left, Seth jumped in front of Tristan and kneeled until his face touched the bare ground. Tristan merely glared at him in response.

"My Lord Mayor, your graciousness was as magnificent as your greatness, I ask you to-"

"Cut the crap, Seth!" Tristan shouted in irritation, and the thin lancer shuddered for a second. However, he kept on kneeling.

He lifted up his head for a moment to show Tristan his grin and said. "Please, my lord, I will be loyal to you… forever."

Tristan's scowl changed into a small smile. He actually saw Seth as an interesting person, as despite his faults, he is an open book, and an excellent opportunist, traits that he can relate to.

"Alright, Seth, I'll grant your wish. I do feel you are currently too weak for the task I needed you to do, anyway." Tristan sighed.

"Please, my lord, I will do anything for you. Nothing will be enough to express my gratitude."

He did not respond. He closed his eyes, pointed at Seth, and concentrated on the kneeling lancer in front of him.

[Blood Seal – Augmented]

[250 points of Blood Essence required for success]

A trickle of red mist came out from Tristan's body, before it gathered together and turned into a thick, dark red fog with the scent of iron. The fog entered through the lancer's nose, ears, mouth, and eyes, and soon after, Seth was laying on the ground and start screaming like a girl.

After a few seconds, Seth stopped struggling, and he stood up on shaky legs. His body felt invigorated but his limbs felt weak, like he went on an intense workout.

[Human]

[Battle Power: 84]

A total of 100% increase in battle power. Just like that, Seth was two times stronger than before. Now, the lancer couldn't stop smiling to himself.

One session of unending gratitude later, Tristan dismissed him and gave him a task. Together with Herrera, they will need to do two things. First, they will go sell the luxurious loot plundered from the barbarian camp, and second they have to find a certain group of Trapper, make contact, and find their leader for him.

Tristan asked them both to conduct the quest with the utmost secrecy. In addition, he also gave them a pouch of gold coins to use during the journey.

At first, Herrera strongly objected to having to go together with Seth for the quest, but Tristan has a distinct feeling he couldn't just let Seth go by himself. He also asked Herrera a specific task to buy more fire spell scrolls for him and for herself.

"I need you to improve, too, or you will be left out." Tristan said.

Herrera's expression instantly changed, and she quickly agreed to do the quest.

They left together, and right as they went outside the gate, Tristan called and gestured for Astrid to come closer to him.

"I need you to tell me more about your people."

Tristan was confident that he wouldn't have any problems finishing the task given to him by the king, but he needs to make sure by the time the three months task was over, he wouldn't get helplessly forced to do something else.

He needed to think outside of the box for this solution. Maybe outside the continent will have the answer

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend" could very much work in this case.

With her assistance, Tristan hoped he could know more about the barbarians.

"Tell me, why do people keep calling you 'barbarians'?"

The girl looked at Tristan with fire in her eyes. "The Arcadians may call us that, but we… We were a proud civilization once. We are older than the Arcadian. We were once called… The Asgardian."