A few small murders are just a drop in the ocean for the vast four-city alliance with a population of millions.
Unless Ursus and Leithanien suddenly turn hostile and send several legions directly into the border of the Dim Forest, the Knight Tournament will continue, even if a natural disaster strikes.
And after the Black Knight withdrew and the undisputed triple champion left the stage, the ownership of the championship once again became suspenseful.
The twelve seeded competitors, chosen from various Kazimierz competitions, were the twelve adults vying for the championship. They were both the strongest in their respective regions and backed by powerful sponsors.
During the half-month of the preliminary points matches, some, as expected, smoothly advanced to the main competition—while others suffered incredibly easy defeats.
Among those who lost the most miserably, several were defeated by the same Knight.
That Knight had no prior competition experience, was only a recently adult young woman, and lacked a strong sponsorship background. She rejected countless Olive Branch from large corporations.
Her only reliance was her old Crusader Knight armor, which became increasingly damaged during battles, and her still Shining sword and shield.
She advanced triumphantly, whether in one-on-one duels, speed obstacle courses, team competitions, or indiscriminate melees, she was always the first to cross the finish line and the last person standing on the field.
She was incredibly powerful, growing rapidly, with every move solid and unyielding like mountains, and her Originium Arts were immensely strong, as if meteorites were falling.
Every Knight who thought they had analyzed her weakness and believed they could easily defeat her would be caught off guard by a new move she had never used before; even in desperate situations, she could achieve a comeback.
Sometimes, she would fight head-on, remaining unmoving no matter how heavy the blows, her swinging sword elegant as a dance, while her opponents could barely withstand a single strike.
At other times, however, she was as agile and swift as a Feline beast, as slippery and difficult to deal with as a loach, dodging and weaving around her enemies with rolls and footwork, dazzling everyone.
Even after her weapon was knocked away by a Spell, she immediately clenched both fists, relying on heavy punches to precisely strike her opponent's abdomen, shattering their armor and incapacitating them.
But at the same time, she was full of competitive spirit and Knightly spirit.
In deathmatches, she would kill all the pincer beasts thrown in by the audience, ensuring that unconscious participants were not attacked. She also completely disregarded the organizers' Face, directly shooting down drones carrying dangerous tools, which were sponsored by several large companies to manipulate the outcome.
After her matches, she would treat every injured person, always acting with restraint to avoid irreversible damage. She would also encourage young Knights who had lost confidence, urging them to continue fighting.
Incredibly powerful yet graceful, this golden-haired Kuranta Knight earned the unanimous respect of both the audience and her opponents; only the most petty individuals would harbor resentment after losing to her.
She was so perfect, entering the main competition of this Knight Tournament with an undefeated record and the highest score.
For the first time, people so clearly realized that Knight Tournament was not only meaningful because of victories, blood, and screams; even without casualties, a fair and open competition, simply observing the heroic image of that golden-haired Knight and the pure skill competition, could be so spectacular.
Many critics couldn't help but exclaim that the almost lost Knightly virtues had once again appeared on the field.
And considering this Knight's surname, some believed that Crusader Knights had also begun their final decline, but more people began to ponder whether there was a possibility of bridging the rift between Crusader Knights and Tournament Knights, who had always looked down on each other.
However, these people were only a minority; most of the audience didn't like to hear too much reasoning or contemplation.
They only knew that one name would cut through all obstacles in the main competition and become a legend whose name would be etched in history.
Her name is—
"Let us congratulate the first place in the preliminaries, the true Knight who proved herself with an undefeated record, transforming from a dark horse into an ace—Margaret Nearl!"
On the mobile TV, the replay of yesterday's final Knight Tournament preliminary day was being broadcast.
The noisy Big Mouth Mob was announcing the points rankings from the preliminaries. The top sixty-four contestants would compete in the final few competition days to determine the ultimate sole winner.
One victory per round, a simple knockout tournament, yet it generated double the excitement.
However, before the main competition began, the organizers thoughtfully provided two days of rest for everyone, allowing the contestants to adjust their mindset and prepare for the upcoming continuous main competition.
Well, the real reason was that the dark horse Margaret Nearl had generated so much buzz that the event planners believed even two days off would allow tourists to shop and buy the urgently released Margaret merchandise.
Portrait rights? Please, how could Kazimierz have such a thing! Who would refuse this unexpected fortune!
This is Kazimierz; even the greatest Knight will be deconstructed into a commercial product.
But what can be done? For a hundred years, this country has always been like this.
— — — — — —
July 5th, Monday
12:00 AM
Weather: Sunny
On the edge of the Grand Knight Territory residential area, in a low-lying courtyard, the heavy clang of metal echoed continuously.
Clang—clang—clang—
Goki was carrying a lounge chair and sitting on the lawn in the small courtyard, enjoying a bright sunbath while taking a break to watch the preliminary broadcast he missed yesterday.
For the past half-month, Goki and Skadi went out daily to search for cultist gathering points, but he had a lot more free time at home.
For no other reason than that Goki's home had gained a Nona maid—the kitchen was currently filled with cooking fumes.
And to the side, two graceful figures were constantly colliding, or rather, it was a one-sided crush.
Skadi was wearing a cool athletic outfit Goki bought for her, holding a greatsword in her hand, and with an unperturbed expression, she continuously chopped down at Margaret like an endless wave.
Of course, Skadi was only using a huge blunt sword Goki randomly bought from a weapon shop; she often complained that the weapon was too light.
However, this was unavoidable. Although the sharp blade constructed by Aegir technology couldn't cut through all weapons in one strike, it caused too much wear on shields. For Margaret, an independent Knight with only one shield, it would be bad if it broke.
"Hoo, hoo, hoo—again, Sister Skadi!"
Opposite Skadi, Margaret held her sword and shield, wearing a cool white tank top and athletic shorts, panting heavily with sweat dripping down her, constantly blocking and dodging Skadi's attacks.
Their hair, one gold and one silver, were both tied in single ponytails, looking vibrant and full of energy.
During this time, as a condition for staying here, Goki and Skadi both became Margaret's coaches, and they often sparred with Margaret.
Although both were Hunters, their styles were vastly different.
Although Skadi was proficient in the dance-like swordsmanship of the Abyssal Hunters, she essentially still overwhelmed opponents with immense brute force.
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Although Goki's skill attribute was much lower than his strength now, even so, the Old Hunter's tactical style was still about precise, clever attacks that calculated stamina, maximizing damage output by exploiting every moment of an enemy's stun to greedily land blows.
These two similar yet contrasting fighting styles provided Margaret, who initially lacked experience, with an excellent opportunity to learn.
Clang!!!
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