Over the next two days, with both the Great Tomb and Lock fully prepared, everyone calmly awaited the start of the Royal Tournament, so no further incidents occurred.
Lock enjoyed a rare two days of peace. With nothing much to do, he took Zesshi Zetsumei to the commercial streets of the Royal Capital to have some fun, making up for her slightly lacking childhood.
Though he did scare a certain former Theocracy traitor quite badly.
On the morning of the tournament, Lock had an early breakfast. Then, under the protection of five hundred Tiger Knights, he followed behind the Kingdom Warrior Troop and the Royal Guard, the procession majestically heading towards the outskirts.
Of course, besides them, many Kingdom nobles who had received the news also followed behind the procession. When they saw Lock's Tiger Knight Order, they were secretly astonished.
Many nobles' informants in the Royal Palace had already relayed the news that Lock and Princess Lana were preparing to sign a marriage contract. This meant that these Magic Beast Knights, whose strength was unknown, could essentially be considered the King's forces.
Perhaps, this so-called Royal Tournament was just a formality.
It was even more likely to be a stage for the King to display his new power, using this method to tell all the nobles of the Kingdom that the Royal Family was about to rise!
In this way, the King's faction would rapidly rise, and the noble faction would suffer an unprecedented weakening.
Most of the nobles in the Royal Capital now believed this, but they absolutely could not imagine that the truth of the matter would far exceed their imaginations.
After all, how could a mere frontier baron have the audacity to threaten the nominal ruler of the Kingdom?
Moreover, in the general environment of the Kingdom, the number of Magic Casters was very small, and it was impossible to find an army composed of a large number of Magic Casters in the entire Kingdom.
This resulted in the combat power among Kingdom soldiers being largely similar, and they currently did not know how the Tiger Knight Order was an army that exceeded their imagination.
"Vier, have there been any magical reactions near the Royal Tournament venue?" Lock calmly sipped his tea and asked the maid beside him.
At this moment, Vier was using a long-distance scrying mirror to observe the situation around the Kingdom's official training grounds.
The reason for using such an easily detectable reconnaissance magic item was to flush out the enemy.
If this reconnaissance method was countered or failed to detect specific information, it would prove that the Great Tomb's people were ambushed at that location.
By knowing the enemy's position, Lock would find it easier to defend against the enemy's attacks.
"Master, no trace of the enemy has been found yet. Of course, it's not ruled out that the other party used more advanced concealment methods, which is why we can't detect their location."
Vier calmly analyzed all the circumstances and said.
Although she had always been studying faith-based magic, from now on, Lock would gradually teach her combat skills.
First, of course, was to start with the most important intelligence work.
When facing an enemy for the first time, all one can do is determine the enemy's position, which will decide whether you can gain the advantage of the first move in battle.
In the current situation, Lock and his companions could not hide their tracks at all. This meant they had to wait for the enemy to attack first and determine their position before they could counterattack.
Although it was a bit unfavorable, such a situation was still within an acceptable range.
The entire convoy proceeded at a relatively normal speed, without any interference during the journey.
Around noon, they arrived at the Royal Hunting Grounds camp, where the Kingdom Warrior Troop usually trained.
Because the King's side had already prepared several days in advance, most of the buildings in the center of the camp had been demolished, clearing out a huge open space.
At the edge of the open space, there were large tents connected.
They looked somewhat like spectator stands in an arena.
Banners embroidered with noble family crests were planted in front of the tents, representing their respective seats.
So, after the entire procession entered the camp, the nobles successively found the positions representing their families, and everything appeared orderly, without a hint of chaos.
On the left and right sides of the camp gate, there were two extra-large tents. The banners planted in front of the tents represented the Royal Vanself Family and the Albert Family, meaning these two tents were prepared for the Kingdom Warrior Troop and the Tiger Knight Order.
After all the warriors from both sides entered the camp, King Ramposa III gave a brief speech, officially kicking off this Royal Tournament.
The King, holding a magic item for amplification, slowly walked to the center of the camp. Beside him was Warrior Captain Gazef, equipped with royal secret treasures.
"Elites of the Kingdom, I believe you are all curious about the convening of this Royal Tournament. Here, I will give you a brief explanation!"
"The young talent from the Albert Family, Baron Lock Kote Albert, pleaded with me, requesting that I bestow my beloved daughter—the Golden Princess Lana—upon him in marriage."
"Although this Baron is exceptionally outstanding, as a father, I am still unwilling to easily give my daughter away. Therefore, I proposed an almost harsh requirement and convened this Royal Tournament."
"This tournament will consist of three matches: individual combat, team combat, and legion combat. Baron Lock must achieve victory in all three matches to be eligible to marry my daughter!"
The Old King's face showed a stern expression, and he spoke with great authority before the nobles who did not know the truth.
At these words, the surrounding nobles erupted in an uproar.
Clearly, they all believed that these three conditions were too demanding, especially when they saw those familiar faces in the King's faction.
Perhaps the Tiger Knight Order could defeat the King's Warrior Group in the legion combat.
But for individual combat, the King would undoubtedly send the Kingdom's strongest warrior, Gazef Stronoff, and the representative for team combat would surely be Blue Rose, the Kingdom's Adamantite-ranked Adventurer team, who were on good terms with the Golden Princess, right?
In this way, even if Lock's side had the Starlight Witch, who was also an Adamantite-ranked Adventurer, it would be impossible to guarantee two victories.
So, did the King actually not intend to marry the Golden Princess to Baron Lock?
Regardless of the nobles' conjectures, the tournament proceeded as usual.
"Royal Tournament, first match, individual combat! Please, representatives from both sides, enter the arena!!!"
As the master of ceremonies' words fell, two figures slowly walked out from the camps of both sides.
The King's side, as expected, sent the Kingdom Warrior Captain as their representative.
However, the figure who emerged from the other side immediately caused discussion among the noble group.
"How could it be him?"
"Baron Lock is entering himself?"
"This can't be a joke, can it?"
"Although the Starlight Witch is renowned in the Kingdom, Baron Lock doesn't seem to have any fame."
"Could this guy be a clown seeking attention?"
Some nobles, jealous of Lock, scoffed. They were young nobles who harbored improper thoughts about Princess Lana and, naturally, wished for Lock to make a fool of himself.
Another portion of the noble faction wore cold smiles. Regardless of Lock's personal strength, they did not want to see a unit like the Tiger Knight Order join the King's forces.
If Lock were to be defeated now, it would be all the better.
Even after the match, they could try to win over this disgraced noble and incorporate that elite army into their own command.
No matter what the nobles watching the match thought, it did not affect the two individuals walking onto the competition grounds.
In the very center of the competition grounds, the two met.
"Greetings, Warrior Captain."
"And to you, Baron Lock. I never imagined before that you were such a powerful warrior."
Gazef's face showed a faint smile. Although Lock's various actions since coming to the Royal Capital were questionable, he still remembered Lock's kindness in saving him.
Lock returned his smile and said, "Warrior Captain, I don't believe my martial arts need to be flaunted. Someone once told me that true masters always hold a heart of reverence."
Gazef was slightly taken aback, pondering his words. After a moment, he came back to his senses and took a deep breath.
"Perhaps you are right. I was once lost in the false reputation of being the Kingdom's strongest warrior, and so I gradually lost myself. Now that I think about it, perhaps there are many people stronger than me in this world. Perhaps you are one of them, aren't you?"
"I believe we will have an answer to that question very soon."
Lock's face showed a confident smile. He quietly turned and moved to his designated position, clearly ready for battle.
Seeing this, Gazef also moved to his fixed position according to the master of ceremonies' instructions.
As the two took their places, the master of ceremonies for the tournament gave the command:
"Let the match begin!!!"
As the command fell, both simultaneously slowly drew their swords from their scabbards, and the duel began in the blink of an eye!
At this very moment, in the forest surrounding the Royal Hunting Grounds, Demiurge was using advanced magic items to observe the match in the camp.
His face held a hint of curiosity. To what extent had this human, who once defeated Ainz in a warrior's duel, truly reached?
Demiurge actually hoped he was strong; if he was only at the level of the Kingdom Warrior Captain, that would truly be disappointing.
If that were the case, they would have to focus their main target on that human girl riding a golden dragon.
Demiurge looked at the lively golden-haired girl in the Tiger Knight Order's camp—Catherine Cort Albert.
At least from this target, useful information could surely be extracted.
Thinking of this, the demon's smile grew wider.
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A/N: Advance Chapter Has Been Uploaded. Please Check It Out. It will really help me out and will keep me motivated to continue.
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