In terms of appearance, the man was undoubtedly the type that drew attention.
For one, his body was robust, exuding an intimidating presence, while his face was as sharply defined as if carved by a blade, resembling a rugged rock shaped by crashing waves, looking firm and stern, especially his eyes that seemed capable of cutting through enemies with just a glance—anyone who made eye contact with him couldn't help but feel a chill, instinctively averting their gaze.
An aura as fierce as a beast's radiated from the man, colliding with Riezel's explosive aura, and as they clashed, neither yielded to the other.
Clearly, only one person could accomplish such a feat in the Mavros family.
"Marquis Raven Mavros... right?" Riezel asked calmly.
"That's me."
At Riezel's question, the stern-faced man responded concisely.
Needless to say, the man was one of the current era's Sword Saints in Jinas, the lord of Mavros Territory, known as the Guardian Sword Saint—Raven Mavros.
Nonetheless, even though Riezel had realized the man before him was the one he had come to see and that he was a Sword Saint with far more experience, his attitude didn't change in the slightest.
"I came because of your invitation."
Riezel took an invitation letter from his pocket, and as he held it, sparks of lightning flickered between his fingers, wrapping around the letter before he tossed it toward Raven.
*Whoosh!*
Even though his movement was light and gentle, looking almost casual and effortless, as the lightning-wrapped letter was thrown, it transformed into a flash of lightning, tearing through the air at an astonishing speed, shooting straight toward Raven.
Judging by its momentum, if it struck, even a battle-hardened Sword Master would suffer serious injuries in an instant.
Raven, with his expression remaining cold as the lightning raced toward him, suddenly reached out before a terrifying aura emanated from him, gathering in his hand and turning into a dark energy that dyed his hand pitch black.
*BOOM!*
As the lightning crashed into Raven's hand, it produced a thunderous sound.
Raven, however, caught it effortlessly as his body didn't even budge, and his expression didn't change in the slightest. He firmly held the lightning in his hand, then squeezed it, crushing the crackling lightning before revealing the invitation letter inside.
"What a rough way to accept an invitation..." Raven remarked calmly. "First, you barged in by carriage, then you recklessly released your aura to suppress my people. Youngsters these days are so arrogant and don't have even the slightest bit of respect or manners."
At this, Riezel responded just as calmly.
"Sorry, I'm not good at playing polite. Since I came here to settle things, there was no need for pretenses. I doubt Marquis Mavros actually expected me to nicely attend your so-called family banquet, right?"
Riezel's blunt words made everyone present, including Axel and Diego, hold their breath.
At this exact moment, they finally realized that this visitor meant trouble.
"Settle things?" Raven glared coldly. "Interesting. I haven't even done anything, and you're already talking like this. Looks like today's banquet isn't happening."
Shortly after saying this, he turned his head to look at the person next to Riezel.
"Did you come here with this kid to settle things with me too, Nibald?"
Nibald, who had been standing quietly, looked even more troubled upon hearing this.
"My goodness, don't look at me like that, Sir Raven." Nibald shook his head. "I can understand why Sir Brynhart did this, but I honestly don't want to get involved in the matters between you two, so please, just treat me as a bystander."
Evidently, he had already accepted the situation.
After realizing he couldn't stop the conflict, he decided his only option was to stay out of it and wouldn't interfere in the matters between the two Sword Saints.
No choice.
Considering the potential consequences of a clash between two Sword Saints were already severe enough, if he, a well-known magician, got involved, things would become even more complicated and harder to resolve.
In that case, it was better to remain neutral and avoid taking sides, so if their conflict escalated and threatened to cause serious consequences, he could step in at the right moment and contain the situation.
"You're as slippery as ever."
As Raven realized that Nibald wasn't on Riezel's side, his expression first relaxed before he spoke nonchalantly.
"Since a long time ago, you've been like this, always unwilling to take a clear stance. Whether it's the royal family trying to win you over or the nobles inviting you, you avoid it whenever you can. It's because of this that you're still just the so-called grandmaster with not even a single proper title or honor to your name."
Hearing Raven's assessment of him, Nibald could only respond with a bitter smile.
Not bothering with Nibald anymore, Raven shifted his gaze, looking to the other side of Riezel, where Lizbeth stood. As he looked at her, a flicker passed through his eyes before he quickly lost interest and turned his attention back to Riezel.
"Since you're so eager to bring this matter up, then I'll just ask you right here." Raven spoke bluntly. "What kind of explanation do you plan to give me?"
Upon hearing this, Riezel smiled, but it was far from a friendly smile—it was a cold and indifferent smile that not only darkened Raven's expression but also made Nibald and the others gasp.
"An explanation, you say?"
Riezel spoke slowly, then lightly clenched his hand before, in that very hand, a black sword appeared out of thin air.
Everyone present immediately had their attention drawn to the sword.
It couldn't be helped.
Riezel's sword, with its blade covered in a crack-like texture, a crimson pattern that looked divine near its crossguard, and intense heat radiating from it, practically screamed that it was no ordinary sword.
Indeed, it was none other than Riezel's Nichirin Sword—Hermit.
Riezel had actually drawn his main weapon, which meant this could only mean one thing.
"I don't think I need to give you any explanation, and besides, by the look on your face, you clearly don't feel the need to explain anything to me either, right, Marquis Mavros?"
Riezel's voice echoed slowly through the air.
"In that case, let's just cut to the chase."
"Let me see for myself the skills of the Guardian Sword Saint who guards Jinas's border and keeps the armies of Reiburg out of this territory."
"I hope your strength is as imposing as your attitude."
"Otherwise..."
Riezel raised his sword, pointing at the surroundings.
"You better be ready to watch this place turn to rubble."
Needless to say, this was without a doubt a declaration of war because there was no clearer display of hostility than this.
Kaiser, Axel, Diego, and the others all widened their eyes, staring at Riezel in shock. Even Lizbeth and Nibald were stunned, clearly not expecting Riezel to be this direct, this bold.
"..."
Raven didn't respond right away but just stared silently at Riezel, his sharp eyes as cold as a blade, not filled with anger but with the chilling look one would give a dead man.
Gradually, the aura around Raven grew stronger and more terrifying by the second, making the hall tremble and even causing the entire castle to shake.
"Fine..."
Raven's deep voice echoed through the room.
"If you're so eager to die, I'll grant your wish."
With this one line, the heavy pressure in the air seemed to turn into a storm, sweeping through every corner of the hall.
As the intense aura from both Riezel and Raven gradually turned into a palpable murderous intent, at that moment, whether it was Lizbeth, Nibald, or Kaiser and his brothers, they all instinctively realized one thing—the sky over Bessare was truly about to change.
However, even though the battle between Riezel and Raven had become inevitable, neither of them made a move right away.
It wasn't because they were hesitant, but because they couldn't go all out inside the Mavros family's main residence since it had numerous defense mechanisms in place, forming an extremely powerful defense system that could help them avert any crisis.
Moreover, if Riezel and Raven had started fighting in the residence, who knew how many people and things would've been affected?
Not to mention, not only would their clash definitely trigger all sorts of defense mechanisms, interfering with their fight, but Raven also didn't want his impregnable home to suffer unnecessary damage either, so the two of them eventually left the residence and chose a different battleground.
It wasn't far from the Mavros family's main residence, and in fact, it was right next to it.
Since the Mavros family was not only a marquis family who guarded Jinas's border but also commanded and trained the army of Jinas, a vast and sturdy training field had been specially built near the residence that was used for regular training, drills, sparring, and other martial exercises.
To ensure safety and functionality, the training field was equipped with a tactical-class defensive barrier, which made it possible for even large-scale offensive magic to be practiced here. Unless someone used tactical-class offensive magic directly on the barrier, it was nearly impossible to damage this training field.
As a result, this training field naturally became the best place for two Sword Saints to fight.
Once the barrier was activated, not only would the shockwaves from their fight be contained within a set range, but no one outside would be able to spy on them or interfere, which would also prevent any underhanded tricks from foreign enemies who might've gotten wind of the battle.
*Swish!*
Riezel's figure suddenly appeared in the training field as if he had teleported.
*BOOM!*
Raven, on the other hand, descended like a meteor, crashing heavily onto the training field.
In the next moment, the two faced each other from a distance, their gazes locking, but compared to when they were in the castle, the aura and murderous intent radiating from them had only grown stronger.
Before long, the sky darkened, ominous and heavy, foretelling an approaching storm.