Saiyan stowaways on the Ark

[Main Text] Terra Conquest: Chapter Twenty-Six - Pay Attention, This is How the Knight's Emblem is Used

The burst of light prevented most of the spectators in the arena from seeing the full picture of the battle.

Only a few people wearing sunglasses witnessed this confrontation, which was too fast for the naked eye to follow.

As the light faded and everyone gradually regained their vision from the sudden flash, Mob the Grand Tournament commentator, who had loudly announced Maria's victory, was still savoring the high-profile battle that had just taken place—

The "darkness" driven by the Originium Arts of the Candle Knight, fueled by candlelight, surged toward Maria like a tidal wave, far surpassing any lighting in the arena, or even any scene searched through memory, and erupted as Maria placed her hands in front of her forehead.

Those who have witnessed the Candle Knight's matches know that her most threatening move is not the large-scale explosion caused by candlelight magic, nor the gorgeous and agile Lytanian noble swordsmanship, but the darkness that becomes more profound and tangible under the light.

No light could dispel it; neither the Thunder Knight's lightning spells nor the Flame Knight's raging flames, nor any opponent that touted light and heat, could illuminate anything beyond the candlelight.

The small size of the candle flame in the Candle Knight's hand only amplifies the absurdity of the darkness, making people even more terrified of it.

Even so, it was still dispelled by Maria's opening move, the Solar Punch.

It's not due to the intensity of the light.

While simply increasing the brightness might dispel the darkness caused by the Candle Knight's spell, the result of using such intense lighting in this environment would only be to burn the retinas of any ordinary spectator who looked directly at them with the naked eye.

The darkness of the Candle Knight is essentially a man-made spell, not a natural phenomenon. Therefore, Maria's technique does not simply enhance the brightness of the Solar Fist, but combines Ki and Originium Arts. While the Ki explodes and releases a strong light, it also dispels the opponent's darkness more efficiently from a magical perspective.

The light, far surpassing that of candlelight, enveloped the entire arena.

The flickering flame on the hilt of the candle sword was barely discernible in this environment.

"In terms of brightness... while it's dazzling enough, it's not exactly unbearable to look at directly..."

The light emitted by the Sun Fist did not blind the Candle Knight for long, as she herself was a user of light-based magic and had some resistance to strong light.

What truly made her feel the situation was somewhat urgent was the effect of the technique itself.

Not only was the darkness seemingly deliberately dispelled, but even using candlelight to highlight it again and gather it back together could not achieve the same result.

Perhaps it falls short of being unparalleled in its brilliance, but it illuminated every corner of the arena without missing a single detail.

Even the shadow of the body.

It's not that a single light source is radiating light outwards, but rather that it seems to bestow light upon every inch of space, allowing it to radiate light from every angle.

In fact, the Candle Knight had already sensed the difference in their strength at that very moment.

The fact that his unrestrained spells, cast with the mindset of "quickly ending the game," were unilaterally dispelled by the opponent speaks volumes.

The Candle Knight gripped the hilt of her sword tightly at that moment.

In the blink of an eye, I gathered my thoughts, and facing my opponent, whose outcome I already knew, I abandoned my reliance on darkness and slashed with a burning blade.

Her opponent was not Margaret Nearl, whom she had expected, but Maria Nearl, whose origins were unknown.

In the esports arena, she never had the right to choose her opponents. Sometimes, even the outcome of the match was decided by the spectators—or investors—from the stands or even the VIP rooms.

But this time she did not receive any instructions, nor did she have any decisions that required excessive deliberation.

The arena is not a place to compare character; only strength can be tested here.

She chose to face her fate head-on—defeated by someone equally dazzling and powerful.

The candle on the sword hilt began to burn faster, rapidly consuming the energy of the sword-shaped spell unit as it activated the fire spell.

In that instant, the flames burning on the Candle Knight's blade seemed to tear apart the light that could turn the entire world into a world without darkness, so much so that it could reflect one's own shadow.

The Candle Knight rarely engages in actual combat with her opponents; most of them are defeated by her long-range fire attacks or dark assaults.

The last time she actively wielded her longsword to confront an opponent was when she fought against the Blood Knight, who was then known as the Crimson Axe Knight.

Because some people will not be swallowed by darkness, nor will they be burned to ashes by fire.

The figure of the Candle Knight in the light was constantly approaching. In Maria's palm, a tiny but even more dazzling entity, far surpassing the light of the Candle Knight's longsword, condensed.

"The Knight's Emblem"

On that tiny entity, the coat of arms of Kazimierz seemed to emerge—a silver-white winged horse.

This is a creation of Margaret's Originium Arts, creating a light source that can exist independently for illumination.

But in Maria's hands, it has more than just that simple function.

"go."

A straight beam of light was drawn up, the trail left by the knight's emblem as it was released.

The lightning speed, comparable to light, was unavoidable; by the time the Candle Knight realized it, it had already pierced through his body.

To be precise, it penetrated her entire location, yet brushed past her.

The Candle Knight stopped moving.

However, this was not because he was slow to react to what was being thrown at him; the Candle Knight was simply "immobilized" in the literal sense.

Her body remained frozen in place, as stiff as a statue, and she couldn't comprehend what had happened.

But if she could turn around and look at the shadow she cast by the flashing light of the sword, she would surely realize the problem.

—The knight's emblem, like a small dagger, was firmly embedded in the ground, "piercing" and nailing the shadow of the Candle Knight.

"Did I—or rather, 'she'—say that?"

“Just because you’re called the Radiant Knight doesn’t mean you’ll admit you have enough strength.”

"Instead, it lets you truly experience: 'Because you have enough strength, you are called the Radiant Knight.'"

Maria approached the Candle Knight step by step and spoke to him in a voice that sounded as if two people were speaking at the same time.

With each step she took, dazzling golden light flowed from her hands, then converged and transformed into an even sharper entity.

It was shaped like a gun and a sword.

The weapon's form was all too familiar to the Candle Knight.

That was the weapon of the previous Radiant Knight of the Nearl family, a divine weapon that made the Ursus army retreat in the Kau War.

"Greetings to you, Candle Knight, who faces both darkness and light."

The spear and sword were raised high above the head.

A slash that sliced ​​through the light that filled the entire arena fell silently with a sweeping motion.

The first duel ended in such a situation that almost no one could see it clearly.

But this kind of competition, where "the eyes can't keep up for various reasons," may have to be held many more times.

*Roguelike gameplay experience: Phantom, you weren't this hardworking when you were working for me... Being a boss is even more disgusting than the Black Knight...

[Main Text] Terra Conquest: Chapter Twenty-Seven: Blood Knight vs. Noob Knight

Excessive use of spells and exhaustion from severe injuries had already left the fallen Candle Knight in a dazed state.

The only thing she could remember was how the opponent's spear and sword stopped abruptly just before they were about to strike, and the intense wind pressure that followed.

—Maria stopped there.

No matter how frivolous she appeared before the confrontation, she ultimately maintained the most basic composure of a knight on the field.

However, in the Candle Knight's hazy consciousness, he could still feel his body being gently lifted up.

"Oh—what an impressive scene! The mysterious contestant from the Nearl family not only displayed unparalleled Originium Arts and the martial arts skills to decide the outcome in one strike, but also showed unparalleled elegance and gentleness."

"She actually carried the unconscious Candle Knight off the field in a princess carry!"

"The noble Knight of Light did not rush to show his joy at the victory, but instead embraced another female knight whose beauty was as gentle as midnight candlelight, and slowly stepped off the stage!"

"I imagine this scene will be published in newspapers for a long time to come!"

The sound of Mob's voice broadcast over the loudspeaker somewhat brought the Candle Knight back to her senses—she also subconsciously regarded her current situation as an embarrassing predicament.

"Um, please... put me down..."

The Candle Knight strained to open his eyes, raising his hand as if to stop her, but Maria, who came into view, simply wore a serious expression unlike before, accompanied by a gentle smile, and looked down at the Candle Knight, saying:

“In any case, Miss Viviana, please allow me to express my respect to you in this way—yes, just like when I kissed the back of your hand before.”

The faces were somewhat unfamiliar.

But the look in her eyes when she said those words was all too familiar to her.

But... "kissing the back of the hand"? How did she know?

Who exactly is she? Why does she seem so familiar to her, so familiar that it evokes the same flutter in her heart she felt when she spoke with Margaret at the rally?

However, her assessment of Maria still carried a somewhat frivolous undertone, given the consequences of being embraced in such an ambiguous manner...

"Please get some rest. I will keep you company through the night when the candle burns out."

The Candle Knight paused for a few seconds when he looked directly into the other person's face.

Then she closed her eyes again, feeling at ease.

...After all, it doesn't seem like there's anything wrong with it?

"My eyes... Ah? It's over? What did I miss?"

"This competition is really hard on the eyes..."

As the game ended, the audience gradually recovered from the shock of the previous light pollution—and in terms of satisfaction, it certainly wasn't very high.

It's difficult to see clearly, and it ends quickly.

This is the only performance effect achieved by having two contestants with vastly different abilities clash head-on on the field, without any script or off-stage arrangement.

However, the dissatisfaction did not last long, because it was only the first game, and there were many more games worth watching for them.

Moreover, sometimes for the audience, whether the game is exciting or not is not so important. Enjoying the atmosphere of everyone gathering together and having a good time is enough to make the ticket price worthwhile.

Although the tournament will determine the top eight on the first day, in order to ensure the players' condition, sufficient rest time will be given in between each round of selection to allow the players to adjust and prevent fatigue caused by continuous competition. Therefore, people are more concerned about who this mysterious Rinko player will face in the second round than the process of the competition.

After all, in the second match, no matter who wins, it won't be as easy for her as it was in this match.

"It has to be said that this competition not only showcased the style of two beautiful knights, but also saved us a lot of time cleaning up the field. This competition is different from the past, so the competition will be held in one venue instead of multiple venues at the same time."

"This means that the audience is in for a treat. You will be able to enjoy the entire tournament, instead of missing other players' elimination matches due to scheduling issues, as was the case in the past!"

"Now, let's take a short break and prepare for the next match!"