Finally, it was about to begin.
Lita took a deep breath of the scorching air, as if burned by everyone’s gaze, and watched as Teristain slowly took down the giant bow from her back. Then Lita calmly unfastened the nearly all-silver Silver Sword from her own body.
Should she say something?
She didn’t know. Lita just felt that her heart had never beaten this fast before.
Not when fighting Momoka, not when facing the insect tide, and not even when battling Dorothy.
The opponent before her was on a whole different level than any of them.
Buzz—
A transparent barrier of magical Light Wall slowly rose, enveloping Lita overhead, wrapping the entire arena like an eggshell.
Then came a second layer, a third, until all five layers enclosed them. Only then did the several magisters standing at the edge of the field slowly lower their hands.
“What does that mean?” Claire asked the young man beside her in a low, puzzled voice.
“The destructive power of a battle between Holy Knights is astonishing. It’s to prevent any harm to the audience,” the young man answered.
“But do they really need five layers?”
“No, it’s necessary. Once you see them clash, you’ll know—it’s not an exaggeration at all.”
Not only Claire, but everyone in the audience was discussing the reason for this duel.
“I heard this Holy Knight has a special relationship with the Fourth Princess. Could this be the Fourth Princess’s doing?”
“It’s possible. With the royal selection approaching, I think the Third and Fourth Princesses are cooperating, trying to make a statement here.”
“I don’t think so. It seems more like they’ve become enemies and are settling scores by fighting it out here.”
Speculation abounded about the cause, but when it came to the result, everyone was overwhelmingly on one side.
On one hand, there was a Holy Knight of unknown origin; on the other, the Crest Knight who had served the Third Princess for years. There was no real doubt about whom to favor.
Sitting in the viewing section, Liliya hugged her arms and snorted coldly. “No need to make such a big scene, is there? It’ll all be over soon anyway.”
“Huh? It’s going to end that quickly? I was hoping for an exciting fight!” Ilya swayed her head with her chin in hand. “What do you think, Sis?”
Cecilia sat upright, gently shaking her head. “Lita said she would bring back victory. I believe she can do it.”
“Tsk tsk tsk, believe all you want. If believing was all it took to win, the world would be in chaos,” Liliya sneered.
“Eh? Sister, do you mean you don’t believe your own personal knight will win? That’s so sad—” Ilya blinked her eyes.
“Uh…” Liliya was momentarily at a loss for words, snorted heavily, and fell silent with her arms crossed.
In the arena, Xingxian had already taken her position. Under countless gazes, she lifted her face and met Lita’s eyes directly.
“I accepted your duel only to show you that a personal knight is not someone a half-baked person like you can covet.”
Lita wasn’t one for such formal speech. Although she sometimes had to mind her words, in front of this person, she didn’t want to bother.
“I already told you, didn’t I? You said my fight with that Holy Knight was for show, to attract attention, or whatever—I don’t remember. Anyway, if I beat you fair and square, you won’t have anything to say, right?”
“Fair and square, huh? For you to actually appear here in person really is a surprise. To answer your courage, I’ll give you a clean defeat.”
“Oh, whatever. Let’s get the trash-talking over with and get started already.”
It was the challenged party who would drop a golden tree leaf—this was a rule Lita only learned in her last duel. So, when the duel started was up to Xingxian.
“All right.”
Xingxian raised her finger. A ball of light gathered at her fingertip, and with a casual flick, she sent it flying precisely at the stem of a golden tree leaf. The leaf wavered and drifted down.
Whoosh, bang, crack, boom.
To most of the audience, these sounds were almost indistinguishable from each other, all happening in an instant.
But those with some skill could see that many things had happened in that brief moment.
Xingxian fired an arrow, which Lita caught with a raised hand. The ball of light rapidly swelled on Lita’s sword, about to explode, but with a deft flick, Lita sent it aside, where it exploded on the ground, leaving a deep crater.
“So fast,” murmured one of the Holy Knights in the crowd, unable to hold back a gasp.
“Yes,” Vanessa, who had fought Lita just days ago, nodded in agreement.
The way Lita was now made Vanessa’s heart tremble a bit. If Lita had given her this kind of pressure during their duel, she would never have underestimated her at first.
Had Lita grown even more in just a few days, or had she been holding back then?
Whatever the answer, Vanessa found it intimidating.
“Not bad. Your reaction is even faster than that night,” Xingxian had already nocked a second arrow. “And your weapon is much stronger than before.”
Indeed, the Silver Sword absorbed a considerable amount of magic, making it much easier for Lita to block that Light Arrow.
But blocking a single arrow was far from victory.
Xingxian let go of the arrow. The Light Arrow shot out, splitting mid-flight into several thinner beams, all converging on Lita.
Lita started running. The beams missed, leaving deep and shallow pits in the ground where she had just been.
But in the spot Lita was about to step, a barrage of arrows closed in at high speed, right where Xingxian had predicted her next move.
A few days ago, at Brownie’s estate.
“What I can tell you isn’t how to deal with your own kin, but just some basic knowledge, understood?”
Brownie paced back and forth in the garden, her expression the usual infuriating one, one hand resting on her sword.
“Understood, understood,” Lita nodded vigorously.
She had just planned to spar with Promi, but now, with a Crest Knight as an instructor, this was more than she could hope for.
Besides, Brownie didn’t keep up the stern act for long. After telling the servants, “It’s dangerous here. You all wait outside,” and once they had left the little garden, she dropped the façade and revealed the doting-sister look Lita knew so well.
“When fighting an archer, what you need to watch for is the type of arrows they’re using.”
“Type of arrows?” This was the first Lita had heard of it.
“That’s right. For example, Explosive Arrows that detonate on impact; Piercing Arrows that can break through heavy armor or magical barriers; Burning Arrows and Freezing Arrows that have fire or ice properties. Then there are more functional types—Signal Arrows, Marking Arrows.”
“So that means, in battle, archers carry lots of arrows?” Lita thought for a moment and asked.
“In normal circumstances, yes. If you know what kind of arrow the opponent is about to use, the fight gets a lot easier. But Xingxian is special. Normally, it’s more accurate to call her a mage than an archer,” Brownie replied.
“A mage?” Lita was puzzled.
“Yes. Her arrows aren’t carried—they’re conjured entirely by magic,” Brownie explained. “But it doesn’t matter where her arrows come from—the effects are the same.”
Explosive Arrow, Tracking Arrow, and now Splitting Arrow?
This woman really was troublesome.
But it was fine—she had already reviewed all the different types of arrows. As long as she could judge what kind of arrow was coming, she’d be all right.
The Silver Sword spun a series of sword flowers, slashing down all the incoming points of light.
But Xingxian’s follow-up attacks came one after another.
In the audience, Liliya glanced disdainfully at the field. “Doesn’t even have the strength to fight back. Why embarrass yourself in front of everyone? If it were me, I’d just surrender early. There’s no shame in yielding before my personal knight. If it comes to risking your life, it’ll be too late then.”
Cecilia had no intention of responding to her provocations, but her palm was already damp with sweat.
She’d seen Lita fight—and it was the fiercest battle she’d ever witnessed. In truth, Crest Knights rarely had to go all out, so she really didn’t know how strong Xingxian was.
Even now, Xingxian hadn’t summoned her crest—this wasn’t even her full power.
The battle was one-sided from the start. Even if Cecilia wanted to believe in Lita, she couldn’t help but notice Lita’s chances seemed slim.
Facing a Crest Knight was indeed a bit much for her.
Others in the crowd couldn’t help but worry for Lita as well.
“Vita—no, Lita, why is she struggling so much?” Claire’s eyes were wide with shock.
“Of course she is. The opponent is a Crest Knight. I say it won’t be long before she’s finished.”
While no one seemed to favor Lita, Xingxian’s gaze grew heavier and heavier.
Every attack of hers was either blocked by Lita or dodged—though several times it looked extremely dangerous, she had yet to truly wound Lita.
So that’s it—Lita’s way of fighting against her was completely different from how she fought the Holy Knight she didn’t even know.
She hadn’t planned on attacking directly from the start; that’s why she kept dodging.
In other words, she was getting used to Xingxian’s moves.
“Gah! Why do you always dodge when I attack?”
Lita flopped to the ground, grumbling in frustration.
“Because your movements are too obvious.” Brownie sheathed her bent sword.
“Obvious?”
“Of course. Everyone has habits. Before launching certain attacks, there’s a tell—a small motion, a change in awareness. Those are weaknesses in battle. As long as you spot them, the initiative is yours.”
“Ahh, then what do I do? I can’t change my own flaws!” Lita wailed.
“True, it’s hard. But it’s much easier the other way around.” Brownie drew her sword again and swung at the sitting Lita.
But the moment Brownie drew her sword, Lita screamed and rolled away, scrambling out of the way in a panic. Despite her clumsy escape, Brownie’s fast strike hit only the ground, leaving a mark.
“Understand?”
Lita nodded thoughtfully.
“When attacking, you’ll show even more openings. If you can grasp that, the fight is much easier.”
That’s right—she could see it.
This move, that charging time—that’s a Strong Arrow!
Boom.
A thick beam of light crashed down just above Lita’s hair, leaving another deep crater in the ground.
The next shot—a Windbite Arrow!
Then—Peak Severing Arrow!
Yes, that’s it. She had already seen through Xingxian’s actions.
And then…
What puzzled Lita was that Xingxian didn’t continue attacking, but instead slowly lowered her weapon.
“What, not fighting anymore?” Lita didn’t dare let her guard down for a second.
“Frontline combat isn’t my specialty. Standing here face-to-face is extremely disadvantageous for me,” Xingxian replied, unhurried.
She was right. Real archers shoot from the back lines, just like when they’d first met outside the arena.
If this weren’t a duel in the ring, but in the wild, Lita would probably have lost already.
“Oh? Making excuses for your defeat now?”
“No, not at all. Her Highness Liliya is still waiting. I don’t intend to waste time, so I will claim victory.” Xingxian raised her hand, golden light gently rising between her palms. “With the power granted by Her Highness Liliya.”