The king had barely finished speaking when the crowd in Twilight Hall erupted in commotion.
Many people didn’t even know where to start complaining, but even so, the entire hall was in an uproar.
“Could that rumor be true? Is there really a group of people looking for Glen?”
“She must have been injured by Glen’s people recently! Otherwise, the king wouldn’t need to do this!”
“That’s probably it. And look, the Third Princess is in a wheelchair.”
“What do you think? Would it work if we just grabbed some random person and claimed they were one of Glen’s people?”
“Whose head? Yours? Do you think everyone is blind?”
The king’s words were essentially a declaration of war against that faction of Glen’s—a fact many recognized.
Whether it was appropriate to bring this into the open was something many likely had differing opinions on. At the very least, from Lita’s perspective, it could shift those people’s attention away from her for a moment, which was a good thing for her.
But with so many people investigating together, Glen’s people might become more cautious, and Lita’s own future investigations might become much more difficult. That wasn’t something Lita or Saixiliya wanted to see.
They weren’t stupid—how could they stick their heads out under so many watchful eyes?
“Oh? Father’s move is quite interesting! With so many people watching, those guys won’t find it easy to sneak in, right?”
Eliya giggled, but her remark received no reply.
Among the five princesses present, two had already gotten involved with those guys to some degree, and one was even wheelchair-bound because of it. No matter how you answered, it would be inappropriate.
Compared to that, the thing that had caught everyone’s attention next came after.
Although the king’s words were a bit vague, if you translated them slightly, it was easy to understand.
The second round and the preliminary round were theoretically similar in process, but since this was in the Royal Capital, everything was much simpler.
In short, one word:
“Fight!”
This was why the venue had been chosen as Twilight Hall. Everyone here just needed to unleash their full strength and defeat their opponents for a chance to become a Holy Knight.
If they performed well, they could even earn the direct recognition of a princess or the king, giving them a chance to rise to the top.
The king’s meaning was also simple.
Aren’t we all here to fight?
You can choose an opponent from among the other examinees, or you can challenge an existing Crest Knight. If you win, you prove you have the strength to become a Crest Knight.
The moment the king finished speaking, alarm bells rang in Lita’s heart.
Look at these Crest Knights: the mysterious ones who had lived who knows how long, the overly dramatic Twin Moons who served as the First Princess’s personal knight, Silver Fang—the strongest of the younger generation, and the terrifyingly huge Helage.
And then there was the weak, pitiful, helpless little Dream Demon who had come out of nowhere.
Oh, right, no one knew she was a Dream Demon.
The choice should be obvious, shouldn’t it?
Even now, Lita could feel more than one pair of eyes on her.
She could faintly hear someone discussing loudly.
“What’s with this second rule? Is it that easy to become a Crest Knight?”
“I don’t know. Maybe it’s another way to pull strings? Think about it—could the Fourth Princess’s personal knight have gotten there through something like this?”
“Don’t say that! Really, don’t say that! I get it! I understand everything now!”
What moved Lita a bit was that someone was actually defending her at this moment.
“What nonsense are you spouting? Lady Lita’s strength is beyond question. How can there still be people doubting her? She once beat Master Xingxian in a one-on-one duel, killed giants in the Northlands, slayed a spider monster in the Royal City, and killed a cardinal bribed by Glen to rid the people of a scourge. How does that become worthless in your mouths?”
Alright, even if it’s wild history, it’s not wasted that I saved your life twice, Beautiful Pheasant.
The person next to him frowned.
“What are you talking about? Where’s this wild history from?”
“Go on, go on, it’s not wild history. If you don’t believe me, come to Hearthstone Tavern tonight, and I’ll tell you all about it!”
Claire clicked her tongue and waved her hand.
“Interesting. Then I’ll have to listen tonight!”
‘Oh no, Claire just wants to tell people her wild history. So what do I do now?’
Lita didn’t think she was weak, but half her strength came from her Crest, and the other half came from being a Dream Demon. If she couldn’t use either, what would she have left?
Forget it, she would just fight however she could.
Even without using her abilities, her swordsmanship wasn’t that bad anymore—at least it was better than back in Solus City!
While everyone was talking, the king stood at the front, quietly scanning the surroundings, observing the various movements below. It seemed like he was planning something as well.
When the noise died down a bit, the king cleared his throat and announced loudly:
“Then, I declare the examination begin now!”
Watching the king return to his seat, Pierre, who was in charge of hosting, immediately raised his voice and called out the names of the first group of examinees.
“First group! Step forward! Everyone else, wait in the examinee seats!”
With Pierre’s words, two referees immediately walked to the center of the square.
A tall, strong young man and a short, thin young man stepped out of the line.
“See that tall guy? I heard he once killed three tundra direwolves all by himself!”
“Are tundra direwolves that impressive?”
Lita only remembered getting along quite well with her animal companion, a tundra direwolf.
“But I think the short one is stronger. He seems to be a pirate by trade—his pair of daggers are cunning and fierce. That tall guy’s in trouble!”
“Right, right! That short guy definitely can’t keep up with his speed!”
As they spoke, the two had already taken their positions in the arena and bowed toward the high platform.
Lita studied the two men.
The short examinee looked under twenty, with short brown hair and freckles on his face. His leather armor was somewhat worn, but his hands were covered in calluses.
The tall young man wore plate armor and dragged a spiked club as thick as Brennie’s big wooden stick. He looked very cumbersome.
Pierre cleared his throat and asked:
“The two of you—do you have any Crest Knight you wish to challenge?”
“No!”
“I don’t either!”
“Very well! Then I will reiterate the rules. The two of you will now engage in battle, regardless of life or death. The match ends when one party admits defeat or is unable to fight.”
Pierre waved his hand.
“Then, the first round! Begin now!”
“Lita, who do you think will win?”
Saixiliya’s voice drifted over lightly.
“That’s obvious—the tall guy! Big is good! Good is big!”
Before Lita could answer, Eliya interjected cheerfully.
Lita glanced at the towering Helage and seemed to understand Eliya’s taste.
“What about you, Lita?”
Saixiliya asked.
“I’d say the short one will use his agile fighting style to wear down the tall guy’s stamina! That’s how it works in the shows!”
“My opinion differs from Her Royal Highness the Fifth Princess. I think the short one will win.”
Lita replied in a low voice.
“Oh?”
Eliya blinked.
“Why?”
“The tall one is too relaxed, as if he’s already won, and his bulk will drain more stamina. That puts him at a disadvantage.”
Lita explained seriously.
Down in the arena, the two had already clashed.
Just as Lita had predicted, the strong man swung his spiked club, pressing the short one hard, but the short young man was exceptionally agile. He dodged the club by a hair’s breadth each time, his daggers like venomous snakes waiting for an opening to counterattack.
But the result seemed a bit different.
The strong man suddenly seized an opportunity. When the dagger was about to hit him, he didn’t dodge or block—he used his breastplate to take the strike head-on, and swung his club like a baseball bat, sending his opponent flying.
Then the short examinee Lita had favored never got up again.
“Haha! I told you! In the face of absolute strength, all schemes and tricks are meaningless!”
Eliya laughed happily, but her words made Lita wonder if she meant something deeper.
But coming from Eliya, it was probably just a casual remark.
‘Anyway, I’ve already embarrassed myself! Very embarrassed! I don’t have time to think about this!’
While Lita was thinking, the second round of examinees had already taken the stage.
This time, two young swordsmen stepped up. Blades flashed, and they exchanged blows.
In the end, one swordsman narrowly won, pressing his sword against the other’s neck.
It would have been more exciting if it weren’t a fixed match.
The third round was also a fixed match, even more obvious than the previous one, but people without enough skill probably couldn’t tell.
However, there were quite a few skilled people. This was all just a formality, and the king wouldn’t hand over the Golden Blood to such people anyway.
After several rounds, fixed matches were more common overall.
Those who had made it this far had likely greased many palms along the way, and the king knew this well.
During this time, Lita also saw a few familiar faces—examinees who had fought alongside her in Solus City.
But because Saixiliya had been lenient, quite a few people who should have been eliminated had managed to advance.
However, in battles against opponents who also qualified to advance, their performance was really underwhelming.
But the next person was different.
A gray-haired young swordswoman slowly walked into the arena.
Before the referee could call out her opponent, she raised her hand to stop him.
“I wish to challenge a Crest Knight.”
Promi said softly.
Her eyes, like ashes, gently landed on the high platform where Lita was.