Natale believed that his invitation to a duel would surely deter Amden and make him hesitate. He expected Amden to come up with excuses and back out of the challenge—after all, it was clear that between who had recently awakened and who had awakened two years earlier, the experienced will have a lot of advantage.
Even without the use of spiritual energy, Natale should have possessed far greater physical strength and agility than Amden. His body would have been tempered by the spiritual energy.
And even if the Vantistart heir had superior sword talent, the gap in their physical capabilities could not be bridged by talent alone.
Meanwhile, Amden's expression did not change for even a second.
Many of the banquet guests were shocked by this development; they could feel the tension rising in the air.
Up until now, the various guests had been quite impressed by Amden's ruthlessness. They knew that such displays were common among young nobles at these banquets and they had been stunned and impressed by the way which Amden had verbally outmaneuvered Natale.
In their eyes, Amden had proved himself to be both aggressive and ruthless—he had already tarnished the Clove family's reputation.
Everyone was eager to see how the confrontation would unfold, and they began to reassess the reputation they had built for the boy from hearsay and rumors.
Amden acted like an old fox, far wiser than one would expect from an 18-year-old.
As for the rumors that he was a fool, they scoffed at them—he was, in fact, a cunning fox. He had woven a perfect trap with his words, even forcing Natale—who was two years his senior—to challenge him to a duel.
Although no spiritual energy was to be used, for someone who had awakened over two years ago, this was a significant advantage.
Finally, as if he snapped out of some thought, Amden's expression changed like he had been suddenly struck by a memory.
He faced Ravien, "Young master Ravien, at the mention of a sword duel, I just recalled your hands. Are you feeling better now?" He asked in an innocent tone.
He continued with 'genuine' remorse, "I apologize for my forgetfulness and neglect. I did not immediately ask about your well-being."
Ravien's face contorted with fury. This was one of those incidents his family had desperately tried to suppress, but now it was all for naught.
Maintaining his innocent demeanor, Amden added, "I hope you won't take my actions to heart. Since you did not have enough money, you ordered your guard to attack me—and it was only proper that, in retaliation, I decided to sever your arm."
This time, the hall fell into stunned and shocked silence.
"Decided to sever your arm?" repeated someone—had Ravien's arm been severed before?
Ravien's fury escalated, and he was about to shout when Amden turned to Natale. "And as for your proposal, young master Natale, I would be pleased to compare notes with you."
The shock delivered by the young Vantistart heir was unrelenting.
After dropping such a sensational bomb about severing Ravien's arm, Amden directly accepted the challenge of the duel.
In a room inside the manor, a few elderly men sat together—Dramon and Alex among them—both sporting bright smiles on their faces.
One of them remarked, "Your grandson is truly something else. Even if he loses, no one would say much—after all, he is still more than two years younger."
Alex nodded in agreement, but Dramon merely smiled without comment.
While he might not be certain of victory in a life-or-death battle against Natale, if it were a contest solely of sword moves without spiritual energy, he was confident that his grandson would crush Natale.
He had seen Amden practice and knew what a monster he was. Even the other two 'monsters', Lucas and Luna, appeared mediocre in comparison to Amden- and he was sure they, too, would easily defeat Natale in a similar contest.
Amden and Natale then moved to the outer garden and the crowd followed them.
Things had taken a very interesting turn and everyone waited in anticipation of the unfolding drama.
An earth-attributed individual promptly created a 30-square-meter platform on which the two stood facing each other.
Amidst the crowd, intently observing every detail, stood Felix Clove—a peak S Rank. He was the younger brother of the current head of the Clove family and Natale's uncle.
His mind was in turmoil, as events had exceeded his expectations.
Natale had promised merely to mock Amden with words, but things had completely backfired. Amden had forced Natale into losing control, and Felix knew that even if his nephew won, there would be no honor or glory for him.
Natale, too, was thinking along these lines. After composing himself, he concluded that he had thrown himself in a mess. Even if he defeated Amden, it would not tarnish Amden's image in any way.
Natale decided that if he wanted to avoid losing any more of his face, he needed to defeat Amden in as few moves as possible.
He had to show everyone just how wide the actual gap was—a gap that could never be filled by age or experience. After all, he prided himself on being the true prodigy of the younger generation.