The "Maid Knight" Lin Qingyue, clad in silver-white armor, stood firmly on the ground, tightly gripping her door-sized Favonius Greatsword.
Compared to the Giant Goblin's colossal four-to-five-meter-tall frame, she still appeared "petite."
But the aura she exuded—as steady as a mountain, as unyielding as rock—made her the new focal point of the battlefield.
Lin Xiyue gazed at her sister's magnificent knight armor, which was both elegant and sturdy, its details adorned with roses and silver filigree.
Then she glanced down at her own rather plain conventional knight's light armor, which even bore a few fresh scratches.
The corner of her mouth twitched as she muttered under her breath, "Wait a minute... Who's the knight here, you or me?"
"How come your temporary 'Maid Knight' getup looks way cooler and more stylish than my official knight armor? Is that even fair?"
The live stream chat instantly flooded with "Hahaha" and "So true."
"The sister's roast is spot-on!"
"Official Knight gets crushed by Maid Knight's looks!"
"It's a skin diff, sis! Nothing you can do about it!"
The Giant Goblin's murky eyes fixed on the tiny figure who had suddenly "switched outfits" and whose aura had become completely different. The sense of threat made it irritable, and the rage from being provoked overwhelmed its reason.
It let out another guttural roar—"Wuru!"—and its massive spiked club whipped up a vicious wind, sweeping horizontally with the force to crush everything in its path!
Faced with this overwhelming attack, Lin Qingyue didn't retreat. Instead, she took a step forward!
An uncontrollable sense of power and a desire to protect surged through her body.
She blurted out, almost instinctively, in Noelle's cool yet gentle voice, reciting a line that made her toes curl in embarrassment:
"The weight of stone... is reassuring!"
The live stream chat instantly exploded:
"Wait, what did she just say? 'The weight of stone is reassuring'?"
"Shouldn't it be 'The weight of stone will lay you to rest'?"
"That line with that maid armor... the style is just too bizarre!"
"Hahahaha, I'm dying! Reciting such a soothing line while fighting!"
"I get it now. Security comes from tonnage! (doge)"
"But still, that line with that stance... it's surprisingly cool!"
The moment the words left her lips, Lin Qingyue screamed internally: Reassuring my ass! Who the hell designed this line?! This isn't a comic con! This line with this maid outfit... it's practically a public execution!
Complaining aside, the effect was undeniable.
Dense Geo Elemental Power responded instantly, coalescing around her into an incredibly solid rock shield shimmering with an amber glow—Breastplate!
At the same time, she gripped the Favonius Greatsword with both hands. Without retreating or dodging, she met the sweeping spiked club head-on with an upward slash that was both perfectly steady and ferociously powerful!
CLANG—!!!
A metallic explosion even more deafening than when Lin Xiyue had blocked the attack erupted!
A circular shockwave radiated outward, flattening and shredding all vegetation within a dozen meters!
The audience in the live stream plaza instinctively covered their ears, but their eyes remained glued to the display.
On the screen, the unstoppable spiked club was held fast by the seemingly cumbersome Favonius Greatsword!
Sparks flew where the sword and club clashed!
The ground beneath Lin Qingyue's feet cracked and splintered, but her sword-wielding arms remained as steady as bedrock. Her body only sank slightly under the force.
The Breastplate shield rippled violently but stubbornly refused to shatter!
Hiss—! Countless viewers sucked in a sharp breath.
"She blocked it?! Took it head-on?! And wasn't sent flying?!"
"Did this maid grow up eating mountains?! What kind of monstrous strength is that?!"
"Thick shield, immense strength, and she's wearing a little skirt armor... My brain can't process this art style!"
"The key point is her strength! She went toe-to-toe with that Giant Goblin in a contest of pure power and didn't lose?!"
"Giant Goblin: Is my massive club just for show?!"
The Giant Goblin was also stunned. It felt as if its spiked club had smashed against an ancient, unmovable mountain. The rebound force sent a numbing shock through its thick arm.
It stared in disbelief at the "tiny bean" below.
But Lin Qingyue wasn't about to wait for it to recover.
The instant she parried the spiked club, she twisted her wrist, using the momentum to press the Favonius Greatsword downward. Then, with a sharp turn of her waist, the ground beneath her feet boomed!
The heavy Favonius Greatsword, screaming as it tore through the air, transformed into a silver-gray arc and viciously slashed toward the Giant Goblin's relatively slender ankle!
"I will be mindful of a maid's etiquette!"
Another line escaped her lips against her will.
Lin Qingyue screamed internally in despair: Shut up! Stop saying that! What the hell does this have to do with etiquette?! My image!!
Live Stream Chat:
"Being mindful of etiquette while hacking someone to pieces?! What kind of demonic maid is this?!"
"Etiquette: meaning to dismember your enemies?"
"Giant Goblin: Oh, thank you so much! This etiquette is too heavy a burden to bear!"
Squelch—!
A sickening thud echoed, followed by the Giant Goblin's agonized howl!
The broad blade of the Favonius Greatsword easily tore through the Giant Goblin's tough, bark-like, dark green skin, leaving a gruesome wound deep enough to expose bone!
Dark green blood gushed out!
"It's working! You broke its defense!" Lin Xiyue, watching from the rear, was so excited she nearly threw her shield away. "Sis! Cut its tendons! Show it the price of not observing 'etiquette'!"
She perfectly fulfilled her role as the designated heckler.
The Giant Goblin roared in pain, its massive body stumbling. Shocked and enraged, it lifted its other foot and stomped down like a colossal pillar!
Lin Qingyue had already sidestepped with pure combat instinct. At the same time, she swung the Favonius Greatsword again, precisely slashing across the calf of the Giant Goblin's supporting leg, adding another bloody gash
She moved like a steady craftsman or a patient hunter, circling the enraged Giant Goblin. She exploited its slow turns and wide attack openings, dodging and striking again and again.
The Favonius Greatsword seemed weightless in her hands, yet each swing carried immense force. Every slash left a deep mark on the Giant Goblin's body.
The Geo Elemental Shield, "Breastplate," provided unparalleled survivability, allowing her to confidently close in for attacks.
While the shield was active, the faint warmth that flowed back to her whenever the Favonius Greatsword struck an enemy continuously restored her stamina and healed minor impact injuries, turning her into an tireless combat fortress!
The scene became utterly bizarre and shocking—
A Maid Knight, less than two meters tall, was relentlessly hacking away at a Giant Goblin four to five meters high!
The Giant Goblin roared incessantly, swinging its spiked club wildly, shaking the very ground. Yet, it was always evaded by the nimble figure or blocked and countered by the solid Geo shield and the terrifying greatsword.
The wounds on its body multiplied, its dark green blood staining nearly half its torso. Its movements grew noticeably sluggish and erratic from pain and blood loss.
"Who... who's the real monster here?" someone in the live stream plaza murmured.
"Maid Knight? That's a human-shaped Gundam!"
"Her previous transformation, the Geo Archon, was a magic tank. Is this one a physical tank plus a berserker?"
"Just how many 'Heroic Spirit' forms does Sister Lin have? Each one has a completely different style, and they're all ridiculously strong!"
"Giant Goblin: This isn't how the script was supposed to go! Where's my promised crushing victory? Why am I the one getting crushed?!"
-
Inside the Official Observation Center, there was dead silence.
The Staff Officer Observer stared at the screen, watching a battle that completely overturned their assessment models. After a long pause, he finally spoke, his voice dry and raspy:
"Record... Target Lin Qingyue has manifested a third 'Heroic Spirit Possession' form, tentatively codenamed 'Maid Knight.'
"Characteristics: Extreme physical defense, monstrous strength, heavy weapon mastery, and suspected continuous combat recovery capabilities."
He paused, then added, "Re-evaluate her win probability against the Giant Goblin... Raise it to sixty-five percent."
This number struck every observer who heard it as utterly surreal.
-
On the battlefield, Lin Qingyue landed another heavy blow on the Giant Goblin's wrist, forcing it to drop its spiked club.
The Giant Goblin let out a piercing shriek as the last vestiges of its reason were drowned in agony and humiliation.
Its eyes turned completely blood-red, and unnatural steam began to rise from its body as its muscles bulged further—it was about to go completely berserk
"Sis! It's about to go into overdrive!" Lin Xiyue shouted nervously, unable to resist a sarcastic jab. "Did your 'etiquette' push it too far?"
Lin Qingyue naturally sensed the shift in her opponent's aura. A flicker of gravity crossed her emerald eyes.
I can't drag this out any longer.
The Noelle Card's transformation had a time limit, and her stamina was constantly draining.
If her shield broke or the transformation ended, they would be in extreme danger against a fully berserk Giant Goblin.
With a deep breath, she raised the Favonius Greatsword high above her head!
A dense, brownish-yellow light—as if condensed from the very essence of the earth—began to gather frantically on the blade!
The surrounding Geo Elemental Power was drawn in, surging toward the greatsword like a hundred rivers flowing into the sea.
The blade transformed into a miniature brown sun, radiating a heavy, heart-pounding pressure!
She poured all her strength and her understanding of Geo power into this single strike.
The Maid Knight's gaze locked onto the Giant Goblin's massive, now-unprotected head. With all her might, she delivered her final declaration:
"I will be mindful of a knight's decorum!"
Behind her, Lin Xiyue facepalmed, her expression deadpan. "Sis, does anything about your current appearance have even the slightest connection to the word 'decorum'?"
The live stream's bullet comments exploded into a frenzy:
"Decorum?! The decorum of hacking a giant with a greatsword the size of a door?!"
"This contrast moe is my new obsession!"
"Hahaha, this is the best comedy fight of the year!"
"Giant Goblin: Can you guys show me some respect?!"
The brownish-yellow energy surged like a furious tide, converging on the Favonius Greatsword. Lin Qingyue's aura soared to its absolute peak!
Before the echoes of her "decorum" declaration had even faded, she transformed into a brownish-yellow meteor. With the force to shatter mountains and split stone, she ruthlessly slashed toward the Giant Goblin's head