FL - Chapter 86: Bloodline Talent: Trace

A Bloodline Talent was not something every knight possessed.

Most knights went their entire lives without awakening a Bloodline Talent or seeing the faintest sign of one. A fortunate few manifested theirs the moment they became Apprentice Knights. Unlike Battle Aura, however, no amount of bitter training could produce such a gift. It came from talent—and perhaps…

A touch of fate.

Today, Louis had awakened his own.

The Bloodline Talent that had activated within him was called—Trace.

By expending Battle Aura and focusing his mind, Louis could predict a target's movements up to two seconds into the future.

Trace also carried a passive effect: mortal danger would trigger a faint premonition of warning.

At first glance, the ability didn't seem all that impressive. Two seconds? What could two seconds do?

But a knight's duel could turn on a single instant. One or two seconds separated victory from death, and against an equal opponent, even a moment's hesitation opened a fatal gap.

More importantly, a Bloodline Talent was not static. As one's Battle Aura cultivation advanced, it too would grow stronger—perhaps even spawning new abilities.

Brimming with excitement, Louis threw open the tent flap and stepped out.

Night wind swept across the camp, stirring the firelight. Everything appeared unchanged.

But the next moment, an Elite Knight standing guard outside suddenly brightened. The words escaped before he could stop them. "My lord… you've broken through?!"

With that single exclamation, jubilation erupted almost instantly.

"The lord has broken through!"

"Outstanding!"

"Congratulations, Lord Louis!"

Knights abandoned their patrol routes and guard posts long enough to gather around him, their joy genuine. They respected strength, but Louis had won their loyalty through composure, decisiveness, and generosity long before this breakthrough. He had led them across the wastes, carved out a foothold in the Northlands, fought the Snowsworn by night, and seized victory at Clearfeather Ridge.

They had already approved of their young lord in every regard save one: his cultivation lagged behind his achievements. Now even that lone regret had begun to disappear.

"At this rate… it's no longer a dream to see our lord become a Legendary Knight."

"Ha, ha, ha, ha!"

After the cheers subsided, Louis suddenly spoke. "I want to test my strength."

His eyes swept across the gathered men and finally settled on a tall, broad-shouldered mid-stage Elite Knight. "You. Spar with me."

The man was a battle-hardened Elite Knight with a solid foundation and dense Battle Aura. His cultivation stood a full minor stage above Louis's new level.

The camp went quiet. The other knights traded uneasy looks. None of them liked the matchup.

"My lord, a full stage gap is no joke…"

"If Frio goes too hard…"

Frio himself was so tense his face had gone pale. He stammered, "My lord, perhaps we could just… go through the motions…"

"If you hold back," Louis's voice dipped half a degree lower, "I'll kick you out of Crimson Tide Territory."

"…"

Seeing that Louis was not joking, silence settled over the camp.

"Understood." Frio swallowed and nodded.

Thus began a duel between opponents separated by a genuine gap in strength.

Louis drew his longsword. Crimson Battle Aura coiled around the blade like tongues of flame, hissing faintly. Frio also drew—crimson Battle Aura mirroring Louis's own. Both were knights of House Calvin. Though their cultivation methods differed in detail, they sprang from the same lineage, making their auras remarkably alike.

Blades clashed. Sparks flew.

Louis held Trace in reserve, intent on testing his unaided strength. His sharpened reflexes and the vigor of his breakthrough initially allowed him to trade blows with Frio on even terms.

Before long, the gap between them began to show.

Frio was a battle-seasoned mid-stage Elite Knight. His Battle Aura ran deeper, and he controlled the rhythm of the fight with greater precision. Within several exchanges, relentless pressure forced Louis onto the defensive. He still managed to parry, but every block left him less stable and more breathless.

"Ah, the gap's still just too big."

"Frio, that's probably enough…"

Cold sweat beaded on the watching knights. They held their breath and exchanged furtive looks. *Maybe Frio should pretend to lose. Just make it convincing enough.*

But at that very moment, the look in Louis's eyes shifted.

Bloodline Talent: Trace—activate!

For one breath, time seemed to halt in Louis's vision. He saw the next second unfold: Frio's shoulder dipping, his longsword descending in a diagonal slash.

*I can see it!*

Louis's body moved like wind. His blade, wreathed in Battle Aura, tore through the air and drove straight into that momentary gap!

*CLANG!*

The sound of metal on metal.

Frio's longsword was sent flying from his grip. He staggered backward two full steps before steadying himself.

"What?"

Three seconds of absolute silence.

Eyes widened across the camp. Louis had been losing an instant ago; now Frio stood disarmed and reeling.

"What was that just now?"

"I didn't see any opening at all…"

"Too fast… it was like he knew exactly what the other guy was going to do!"

Even Frio himself looked utterly bewildered. He stared down at his empty sword hand, then turned toward Louis standing steady a short distance away. After a moment, he regained his wits and let out a rueful laugh. "I yield. My lord is truly… full of hidden depths."

Louis exhaled and looked down at his sword hand. The web of his thumb had gone numb, and his chest still heaved.

He was not drunk on this victory.

The instantaneous counter had been exhilarating: fast, precise, and lethal. But Trace demanded extreme concentration and consumed Battle Aura throughout its use. It was a weapon to ration, not squander.

Lambert stepped out from the crowd, his brow faintly furrowed.

As Louis's guardian knight, Lambert had taught him combat since childhood. He knew every pattern in Louis's swordsmanship, yet the final counter had confounded him.

No amount of technique alone could explain it.

He walked up to Louis and asked in a low voice: "My lord, that strike—how did you do it?"

Louis didn't beat around the bush. He dropped his voice and answered: "I've awakened a Bloodline Talent."

"What?" Lambert froze.