Seeing the old man, the man's face immediately showed a respectful expression. He turned to face the old man, bowed slightly, and said, "Alfred, why have you come?"

"When you sent the message, Ralph happened to be with me, so I came along," Alfred replied simply, then turned his gaze to Liens outside the shield. He also sensed the aura of the Grandmaster Realm from Liens.

Facing Alfred's gaze, Liens smiled in polite response. Then, Wind Element swirled around him, emanating a faint green glow.

If anyone observed closely enough, they would notice that the Wind Element swirling around Liens wasn't flying chaotically, but rather forming a specific, unique structure.

With a thought, the green light on his body transformed into flowing specks of light that merged into the shield beneath his feet. Immediately after, the shield automatically opened a hole large enough for one person to pass through, and Liens landed inside the shield.

Seeing this, the few people floating in the air showed surprised expressions, and even Alfred's eyes held a hint of astonishment.

The magic ritual before them was no simple feat; otherwise, it wouldn't be used to defend against the invasion of powerhouses from the Rebel Army. Yet, Liens easily broke it.

How could this not shock them? Moreover, from the elemental reaction on Liens, it was clear he was a Knight, not even a Mage.

"Is the rough-and-tumble profession of Knight so competitive now? They're even starting to dabble in magic."

Such thoughts surfaced in their minds.

"Alfred, Sword Saint, hello. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Although this was a dungeon, out of respect for the strong, Liens did not immediately attack but instead offered a polite greeting.

"Young man, your understanding of the elements is quite profound… May I ask your name, where you are from, and why you have come?" Alfred asked, smiling at Liens.

"Liens, a nobody, currently affiliated with the Rebel Army. I have specifically come here to seek guidance from the Sword Saint," Liens replied seriously. After speaking, his aura fully erupted, and he gazed at Alfred with a solemn and grave expression.

"How dare this audacious madman infiltrate Baker City alone and even presume to offend Alfred!"

"Seek guidance? Let me, Marshall, teach you a lesson, you rebel!" Hearing Liens say he was from the Rebel Army, and confirming him as an enemy, the man no longer hesitated and prepared to attack Liens.

"The Rebel Army, huh…" Alfred stopped the man, not letting him attack. He murmured to himself, a hint of regret appearing on his face.

Immediately, Liens felt a peculiar and concealed fluctuation attach itself to him.

Though he didn't yet understand what it was, he naturally couldn't allow an unknown entity to run rampant on his body, so he used his own momentum to intercept it.

"Oh~"

Seeing his ability intercepted, Alfred looked at Liens with even greater surprise.

In his simple observation, although Liens had comprehended the Grandmaster Realm, he seemed to have only recently advanced to the Grandmaster level, and there was still a significant gap between him and Alfred.

Theoretically, with such a disparity in power, it would be very difficult for Liens to detect Alfred's ability.

"Is it the uniqueness of his ability?"

Alfred thought to himself, if the characteristic of the other Grandmaster's ability was focused on perception, then it wouldn't be too strange for him to detect Alfred's ability.

Despite thinking this, Alfred's gaze toward Liens also carried a hint of curiosity.

After intercepting the unknown fluctuation, Liens quickly found its source. Seeing that Alfred had already made the first move with his own abilities, Liens naturally wouldn't fall behind.

"Clang!"

His longsword instantly unsheathed, and stepping on air, Liens transformed into a streak of green light, shooting directly towards Alfred not far away.

Almost instantly, he arrived before Alfred. In response, Alfred remained calm, drew his sword, and swung it. Like Liens, his sword was also imbued with a faint blue glow.

"Boom!"

The two swords met, unleashing a tremendous impact. The vibrating air formed an invisible force that rapidly spread, causing unstoppable fluctuations in the magic shield. The other few people in the air were forced to retreat from the center of the battle.

Green and blue only briefly stalemated before separating. Under the immense power disparity, Liens was directly sent flying like a cannonball, crashing into the magic shield.

"Pfft!"

A mouthful of fresh blood spurted out, Liens's lips were stained with blood, and his face turned several shades paler. Clearly, with just one head-on clash, his body had already sustained injuries.

"The gap is a bit large," Liens muttered gravely to himself, looking at Alfred, who remained calm and stood quietly in the air.

That single sword strike had almost concentrated all of his power, leaving only a little for body protection to prevent his body from being unable to withstand the impact of the force.

But even so, he was still easily sent flying by the opponent's single sword. This difference in power was far greater than that between him and Lucrezia before he cracked that grand magic.

This was still under the condition that the Sword Saint might not have used his full strength. The immense gap made Liens feel the same sensation he experienced when he first directly confronted Bard.

He knew he probably couldn't pose much of a threat to Alfred, but he came here with no intention of returning alive.

Therefore, after briefly suppressing his internal injuries, Liens stepped on the magic shield, using the leverage to charge at Alfred once more.

During the charge, he also directly entered the state of "Heaven and Man as One."

The battle continued.

...

Liens opened his eyes and stood up, looking at the several people who had entered the tent. He asked faintly, "Who are you?"

"We apologize, sir, we did not mean to disturb your rest."

"It's just that we called out many times outside but received no response from you. We had no choice but to intrude, and we ask for your understanding," the leading man replied respectfully, bowing slightly to Liens's inquiry.

"I am one of Balder's deputies. My main job is to handle matters that Balder temporarily doesn't have the energy to deal with."

"We've come this time to present you with a gift, a token of welcome for joining the Rebel Army," the deputy continued to explain.

"Armor, then," Liens said softly, his gaze on the large box being carried in by two Rebel Army soldiers.

"Yes, Balder saw that you didn't have any protective armor, so he sent you a precious set of armor," the deputy said, surprised that Liens had already identified the contents before the box was even opened. He didn't ask further, but continued to explain to Liens.

"Although you are powerful, the battlefield situation is complex. Therefore, a set of protective armor is still somewhat necessary."

"This is a Knight's armor personally chosen for you by Balder. It's a full-body plate armor, very tough, and sufficient to protect all parts of your body."

"At the same time, its material is very special, so even as full-body armor, it won't be very heavy."

"Furthermore, it was designed by a master blacksmith, so it will perfectly conform to the human body and won't significantly affect your movements."

"Would you like to try it on?"

Saying this, the deputy had his subordinates open the box and display the armor inside for Liens to inspect.

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