The Shadow of Great Britain

Chapter 1124: Chapter 107: Bismarck, Are You Really That Tough? (3)

Clearly with a harmless appearance, but the words that come out of his mouth get increasingly more infuriating. The more Bismarck looked at this guy, an evident newcomer doctoral student, the more he thought this fellow possibly had a great craving for a duel.

However, seeing how cocky this guy was, Bismarck decided that before leaving him in total defeat, he would first give him a good dose of humiliation.

He deliberately teased Arthur, adopting a superior demeanor as he asked, ”Doctoral student, make no mistake; it is you challenging me. It is my freedom whether or not to accept your challenge. Do you have any reason that compels me to deal with you?”

”Reason?” Arthur was taken aback for a moment, then laughed: ”That was my oversight. How about this...”

Arthur drew the Sword of Honor from his waist, the sheen of steel, the exquisite engraving, the silver hilt adorned with red and green gems, all left Bismarck dazzled.

Arthur twirled the sword elegantly through the air before sheathing it again: ”If you can defeat me, this sword will be yours. A Sword of Honor bestowed by His Majesty the King should be worth some effort, right?”

”Bestowed by His Majesty the King?” Bismarck was stunned: ”Which King?”

”Of course, it is King William IV of Hanover.”

Arthur’s few casual words had hooked into the young man’s dormant vanity: ”Moreover, this sword was crafted by Mr. James Nasmyth, a friend of Mr. Faraday. Mr. Nasmyth is not only a renowned engineer but also an extraordinary swordsmith. And since Mr. Faraday comes from a family of blacksmiths, he and Mr. Nasmyth have always had a good relationship.”

Bestowed by the King of Hanover...

Forged personally by Faraday’s friend?

Upon hearing this, Bismarck’s heart couldn’t help but race.

Though he came from a noble family, and his grandfather even served as the Home Secretary of Prussia during the times of Frederick the Great and Frederick II, his family didn’t possess a single Sword of the King’s honor.

If he could obtain this sword, even setting aside its price, just walking down the street with it would be a tremendous honor.

As Bismarck thought of this, fearing Arthur might back out, he hurriedly bent over, picked up the white glove, and stuffed it into his coat pocket.

He gazed at Arthur, his heart was intensely excited, yet he had to feign a cold demeanor: ”Doctoral student, you’re in luck today. I’m in a good mood, so I’ll entertain you.”

Arthur shook his head upon hearing this and said: ”That’s not going to work. I’ve put up a Sword of Honor for the wager; what do you plan to bet against me?”

Bismarck suppressed his excitement and coldly asked: ”Isn’t the reputation of being the best fighter in Gottingen University enticing enough?”

”I’m not interested in that title, but I want to ask you a question.”

”Wait till you beat me!”

Bismarck seized the moment when Arthur spoke, lunging forward with a thrust aimed directly at Arthur’s left flank.

Unexpectedly, such a well-practiced thrust was effortlessly evaded by Arthur, who gracefully sidestepped, and even before his body could react, he heard the whistling sound of the wind by his ear.

It felt as if a giant iron nail had pinned his foot to the cobblestone pavement, rendering him immobile. His sword-wielding wrist also seemed to be clamped by iron tongs, and then it was instantly twisted 180 degrees.

With a clang, Bismarck’s Sword of Honor fell to the ground.

He was also pinned to the ground, with Arthur’s elbow securely locking his throat. He used all his strength to get up, but couldn’t even pry open the arm of this monstrous doctoral student.

As time passed, Bismarck’s face turned more and more purple. Using sheer willpower and the inherent vanity and pride of youth, he held out until the very last moment, yet couldn’t escape from the fate of tapping out: ”I admit defeat, I admit defeat!”

As soon as Bismarck surrendered, the restraint on his neck was immediately relaxed. He gasped for air, vaguely hearing the mutterings of that monstrous doctoral student: ”I thought it was over for me after being arrested by the police, but it turns out my skills haven’t declined at all.”

Holding his neck, Bismarck sat on the lawn, panting and angrily glaring at Arthur.

He knew that today, he couldn’t avoid a bout of humiliation.

He had seized the initiative only to get countered, ending up choked into surrender—a shameful defeat, making Bismarck’s face flush. The only way to mask his humiliation was through anger: ”Fine! You win. I admit it. Now you are the best fighter among the students in Gottingen University! But I guarantee, by tomorrow sundown, that title will return to me!”

Arthur ignored Bismarck’s ranting. Instead, he pulled his glove out of Bismarck’s pocket, then dusted off the dirt with it: ”I said I’m not interested in that title, nor can I be the best fighter among the students in Gottingen, because I am the best fighting professor in Gottingen.”

”Pro... Professor?” Now it was Bismarck’s turn to be dumbfounded: ”What kind of professor are you?”

This guy didn’t seem much older than him and he was a professor?

Weren’t professors supposed to be old men like Herbart?

”What kind of professor? I am the Electromagnetism Professor at the University of Gottingen, Arthur Hastings. I’m sorry we met in this manner, Mr. Bismarck.”

”I...”

Arthur didn’t give Bismarck a chance to speak, and shifted the topic: ”As I said before, I wanted to ask you a question, and now you have to answer me.”

”I...” Bismarck came to his senses, his face turning even redder than a branding iron: ”I understand, I’m not the type to back out on my word! Go ahead, ask, but it’d be best if you don’t ask questions I don’t know, I’m studying law at Gottingen. If it’s about electromagnetism, you know more than I do!”

Arthur chuckled softly: ”I’m not one to deliberately make things difficult. Rest assured, this question is easy enough for even a three-year-old to answer.”

”What do you want to ask?”

Looking at Bismarck’s embarrassed appearance, Arthur used the tip of his foot to lift the fallen Sword of Honor, grabbed it, and then handed it back to Bismarck: ”Answer me! Fellow student Bismarck, what lesson did you learn from today’s events?”