Ibiruei, supported by her teammates, returned to the King's camp. As an undead, she couldn't recover with healing magic, but vampires inherently possessed "Rapid Healing" abilities. After a period of rest, she would be mostly recovered by the next day.
"Your Majesty, I apologize, we failed to win the match," Lakyus said apologetically to Ramposa III, who was seated on the throne.
The Old King didn't blame them excessively; after all, he had witnessed the strenuous efforts of Blue Rose and the others. He offered words of comfort.
"It's alright, this is not your fault. I will still have to rely on you greatly for Lana in the future!"
Lakyus didn't fully grasp the Old King's underlying meaning, taking it as mere encouragement. After bowing, she retreated to the side.
The Old King looked with his cloudy eyes at the opposing camp, a wave of helpless sorrow rising within him.
You won, Baron Lock.
"The third match is about to begin, please may the participants enter!"
As the announcer's voice faded, a person stepped forward before the Old King.
"Then, Your Majesty, I shall take the field. Please rest assured! I will definitely bring victory back to you," the young noble declared confidently, though inwardly he was contemplating how to preserve his own life.
He had only joined the Kingdom Warrior Troop for the treatment of a Royal Knight. He was the second son of a noble family and was not truly loyal to Ramposa III.
Ramposa III, of course, was well aware of this outcome; it was one of his compromises with the noble faction.
"Then I leave it to you, Knight Bajak."
Bajak nodded, then turned and walked towards the center of the arena.
Following him were a hundred members of the Kingdom Warrior Troop, including some relatively elite soldiers temporarily selected from the city guard.
Their equipment was not even uniform, and their weapons consisted of ordinary spears, iron swords, and so on.
Although some were equipped with bows and arrows, these common wooden arrows probably didn't have much lethality in this world.
On the opposite side, a person who was not tall, and even appeared to be a child, walked at the forefront, clad in a suit of pitch-black full-body armor and holding a war spear.
Behind the small warrior, a hundred Tiger Knights clad in silver-white armor and equipped with excellent weapons stood in neat formation.
Soon, both teams entered the arena and stopped a hundred meters apart.
"Hmm? Not there?"
Lock saw that Sebas was not among the hundred-person army from the Kingdom and immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
Frankly, when he saw Sebas appear beside the Golden Princess, he had been slightly worried about this match.
After all, his declaration was three consecutive victories. If one match were lost due to the Great Tomb's interference, he would truly lose face.
Therefore, to prepare for Sebas potentially being a participant, he had changed the roster, distributing himself, Catherine, and Zesshi Zetsumei across the three matches as insurance.
The weakest, Zesshi Zetsumei, combined with the hundred-person Tiger Knights unit—even if she couldn't defeat Sebas—should at least be able to maintain a draw.
…Right?
But now Lock no longer needed to worry.
The anticipated worst-case scenario had not occurred.
"Royal Tournament, third match, begin!"
The announcer's voice spread across the entire venue.
Knight Bajak's side, seeing the well-ordered Tiger Knights, chose not to charge directly. Instead, they adopted a defensive formation in place, with Bajak hiding in the center of the team.
The observing nobles all doubted that the Kingdom Warrior Troop could win this match.
But they hoped they could hold out a little longer—long enough to observe the Tiger Knights' strength.
Because in the future, perhaps the Tiger Knight Order would become their formidable enemy.
Unfortunately, fate was destined to disappoint them.
In everyone's sight, the Tiger Knight Order did not charge.
Instead, a mounted archer in the center slowly raised his magical longbow.
As his fingers pulled the bowstring, an energy arrow materialized.
At the tip of the arrow, a magic circle appeared, expanding to three meters.
Whoosh!
The moment the arrow passed through the magic circle, it transformed from finger-thickness into the size of a pillar.
Everyone's gaze was drawn to the massive arrow.
"ALL UNITS DEFEND!" Bajak shouted, voice trembling.
The giant arrow soared into the sky and suddenly split into thousands of tiny arrows, raining down upon the Kingdom formation.
"Defend!"
"AHHH!"
The arrows fell like a storm.
Many soldiers reacted too slowly.
Their armor could barely stop normal arrows—let alone magic arrows.
Knight Bajak swung his treasured sword, deflecting one arrow.
But countless others pierced his body.
Three seconds later.
Not a single person remained standing.
All one hundred soldiers rolled on the ground, screaming.
"This…"
"Impossible!"
The nobles were horrified.
There was no melee combat.
No tactical exchange.
Only one archer.
One arrow.
And the match ended.
Inside the tent, Ramposa III took a deep breath.
That arrow had only caused a few deaths; most soldiers were severely injured but alive.
Otherwise, the Old King could not remain calm.
"King…"
Gazef, already revived, approached him.
Ramposa smiled faintly.
"My Warrior Captain… accompany me."
"To announce the victor."
In the forest nearby, Demiurge watched through a magical item.
He sighed slightly.
The humans here were far inferior to Lock's subordinates.
Their value was minimal.
"Aura. Begin the operation."
"Okay."
Aura blew a whistle.
Immediately, countless magical beasts roared and charged toward the camp.
Their footsteps thundered like a storm.
The sentries panicked.
Dong! Dong! Dong!
Alarm bells rang.
"Your Majesty! A massive beast tide is approaching!"
"What?!"
Ramposa immediately used a magic item to amplify his voice.
"Everyone! Magical beasts are attacking! The plains around the hunting grounds are too open—retreating is dangerous!"
"We must defend the camp together!"
The nobles agreed immediately.
Because their lives depended on it.
Almost instinctively, they looked toward Lock.
The strongest person here.
They've arrived.
Lock raised an eyebrow.
He was certain this beast attack was orchestrated by Nazarick.
But what was their goal?
Direct assault?
Or something else?
Suddenly, the sky darkened.
Everyone looked up.
Thousands of flying magical beasts filled the sky.
Giant eagles.
Owls.
Blood bats.
They swooped down.
Tearing apart tents.
Snatching nobles.
"AHHH!"
"HELP!"
"RUN!"
Arrows were fired upward.
But they did nothing.
The beasts' hides were too tough.
A noble weighing over three hundred pounds was lifted into the air by two blood bats.
In pani,c he struggled.
The bats ripped him apart mid-air.
Blood and organs rained down.
At that moment—
The final thread of sanity snapped.
The entire camp descended into
CHAOS.
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