Saiyan stowaways on the Ark

Nearl's grandfather, Cyril Nearl, a former "Radiant Knight," led seven men to rescue thirty-one Silver Spear Pegasus Knights trapped in the enemy army on the "Golden Plains." He then defeated three thousand Ursus soldiers and brought back the shields of all the fallen soldiers, which led to the Nearl family motto, "Fear not the darkness," being engraved on the equipment of all Silver Spear Pegasus Knights from that time onward.

Whether it's Margaret's own strength and the Silver Spear Pegasus training she received that made her qualified to join them, or whether her lineage made her a perfect fit to be a member, she had various ample motivations to join the Silver Spear Pegasus.

Margaret refused, without specifying the reason, but Ioleta believed it was because Margaret had already found the answer to "not staying in Kazimierz" when she left.

He then accepted the long-awaited knightly duel.

Marieka is the current captain of the Silver Spear Pegasus Knights.

—Then Maria caught the opponent's all-out javelin throw without moving.

This is a powerful penetrating attack that is no less than the legendary "Arrow of Mystic Iron." On the battlefield, a group of silver-speared celestial horses throwing spears is enough to destroy Ursus's medium-sized land-based ships with a single offensive.

Although the strength of the Silver Spear Pegasus was never due to the extraordinary individual ability, this applies to the organized elite combat forces of any country.

But her act of gripping the tip of the javelin and then hurling it straight into the sky at a deafening supersonic speed, never to fall again, had already made them realize that the current situation was not a difference in strength that could be compensated for by numbers.

Elite groups can exert a crushing effect, like a sickle reaping wheat, against organized regular armies or groups with varying individual abilities.

However, this is not ideal when facing more powerful individuals—or clusters of the same level.

However, this is merely a theoretical conclusion.

Those stronger than them are unlikely to appear on a large scale, those weaker than them are not worth fearing, and the so-called "more elite" individuals cannot create a real gap in strength.

But now Margaret has shown them through her actions that these empty words have become reality.

At the very least, the insurmountable gap in individual capabilities has already been laid bare before them.

The knights of Silver Spear and Pegasus were unable to retain Margaret by force, and they also witnessed her growth as a "Radiant Knight".

And now, Kazimierz is no longer worth such a Radiant Knight staying.

However, Grandmaster Ioleta gave Maria a higher evaluation after arriving at the scene.

Although, like everyone else, when she first saw this person on screen, the first thing that came to her mind was "Who is this person?", and she was even questioned by Marna, who was doubting her life after seeing Maria, about "whether he is an outsider you secretly arranged", she quickly calmed down and judged from the perspective of strength whether this person could live up to the name of the Light.

The battle between the Candle Knight and her didn't reveal much, so after witnessing the battle between the Radiant Knight and the Silver Spear Pegasus, she became even more curious about the strength of this mysterious contestant who replaced Marega.

"...Very strong."

Ioleta looked at Maria on the field. Compared to the first round, Maria's expression was much less frivolous. The woman who used to laugh and joke casually under the fierce attack of the Candle Knight was now showing a completely different serious face.

"His origins are unknown, but he is undoubtedly 'Pegasus,' and his strength is greater than Margaret's, even far surpassing mine and Cyril's."

Ioleta's high praise aroused doubt from another silver-lanced pegasus knight accompanying her—the knight captain who had fought against Nearl the previous night.

Silver Spear Pegasus has arrived in the Great Knight Territory because of the attack on the war knights. His main task is to patrol and guard, and to be dispatched in an emergency when necessary to capture the dangerous criminal. However, he also came to the arena on Ioleta's orders, but changed out of his white armor to make it easier to protect the knights.

“Stronger than Margaret… Even if we all know she didn’t go all out that night, is it possible to so easily conclude that this person is superior to her?”

"The captain of the knights asked."

Ioleta did not answer the question directly. Instead, she looked at the rookie knight on the other side. His heavily armored body made it impossible to tell that he was any different from the one in the previous match.

“But that man is stronger. I can feel it. He is the same person who appeared at the meeting. Even though his body is covered in armor, he cannot hide his aura.”

As the saying goes, experience is the best teacher. Even without the ability to sense auras, she was able to tell from the rider's posture and demeanor that the knight was indeed Tomat.

"Grandmaster, you said he is... 'that monster'?"

During the conversation, as the referee blew his whistle, Maria assumed a stance with her feet apart and arms outstretched at her sides.

In an instant, a golden aura surged forth from her body, and an invisible and intangible sense of oppression swept over the heart of the knight captain who had just raised his doubts like a tidal wave.

This dangerous aura was not hostile; it was simply that its very existence was so immense that it subconsciously put him into a state of emergency.

This power is indeed above Margaret's!

Countless knightly emblems appeared out of thin air, coalescing and landing on the shadow behind Tomat.

The knight's emblem, which once sealed the Candle Knight's movements with just one, now requires hundreds of emblems.

Stop the opponent's movement, then attack!

However, Tomat took a steady step forward.

It was as if the hundreds of times the Knight's Emblem had no effect on him.

The light that pierced the shadow shattered and dissipated, but Tomat stopped moving forward after taking a step earlier.

He simply stretched out his hand, met the beam of light hurtling towards him, and swung it upwards—but no one saw this movement clearly; all people saw was a huge strip of light rushing towards Tomat like a torrent.

The spear attack, comparable to the speed of light, was as fast as a laser weapon; all people saw was Tomat raising his hand and then remaining motionless.

Just as Margaret easily caught the Silver Spear Pegasus's javelin, Tomat effortlessly deflected the even stronger Maria's Light Spear.

The unspoken doubts stopped there; the Knights captain didn't know how to express his current emotions.

Like the powerful individual strength of the Wendigo?

To form a cluster like their silver spears and heavenly horses?

He used every known force he could think of to compare the things in front of him, but found that the comparisons only made his long-held common sense seem absurd and ridiculous.

Ultimately, what's the point of these guys even participating in the competition?

[Main Text] Terra Conquest: Chapter Thirty-Five - Angered Thoughts

The night sky over Kazimierz was illuminated.

A light far surpassing that of Originium Flares rose into the sky and disappeared among the hazy stars caused by pollution in the Great Knight Territory.

"This gold color is so beautiful."

Thomas praised her.

Then he looked at the armor on his palm—a small part of it had melted.

It seems impossible to return the armor intact to the original shopkeeper.

"But I've seen even more beautiful ones."

Maria didn't show any surprise at being deflected by her full-force attack. Instead, she smiled with the ease that comes with being a fused warrior.

"It's a pity I didn't grant you that honor of radiating golden light. It seems that this right was reserved for Mr. Bardock, wasn't it?"

Thomas nodded.

At the same time, Maria raised her hands, making a "abstain" gesture towards the drone.

The outcome had already been decided once, and the recognition of Tomat's strength was already deeply ingrained in their hearts.

Deliberately seeking defeat in the public eye carries the added risk of immediate collapse; in that case, surrender.

Before the stunned audience and commentator could react, Maria jumped off the stage, leaving Tomat alone. He looked up at Bardock, who was sitting in the audience where no one dared to approach—except for a group of children. Their eyes met, and a fierce internal struggle had already begun.

"Right now, you can't even force me to use my full strength without transforming. Transform during the battle, otherwise I won't be able to unleash power beyond my limits."

This was the pre-match agreement between Tomat and Badak.

"I can do it without you telling me."

Bardock's answer had already been given long ago.

In the second match, Markowitz chose to withdraw before the start of the match. Although his personal experiences made him yearn for power, he did not have a strong competitive spirit. Even though Rhodes Island, which had helped him, asked him to participate as their representative, he also said that he could choose not to participate.

Having secured a place in the quarterfinals, he had essentially responded to Rhodes Island's request. Therefore, upon learning of his opponent, he chose to forfeit, knowing that Bardock and Tomat were of the same race and that their strength was beyond his reach.

After that, he will continue to repay Rhodes Island for saving his life, and while staying true to his principles, he will run the Rhodes Island Pharmaceutical Company's branch CEO, working hard to improve the medical conditions and living conditions of the infected, while continuing to work as the head of the Rhodes Island office in Kazimierz, based on the medical company.

After all, the Doctor seems to really appreciate Markowitz's work experience—the president of a human resources company, who finds and poachs talented people and then assigns the right people to the corresponding activities. In a sense, this is quite compatible with her work as the commander of Rhodes Island. In addition, her training on this ship has also proven that Markowitz's character is trustworthy.

With his strong performance in the quarterfinals and his highly publicized knight status, his activities in Kazimierz will likely proceed smoothly. Of course, the main reason is that the name "Rhodes Island" alone is enough to deter the commercial alliance from interfering.

With the first half over, the second half, like the first round, became one of the few sources of entertainment for the audience. After all, what's the point of a battle where players either forfeit during the match or before it even begins?

Moreover, the title of "top four" is something they should strive for.

"Ugh, looking at it now, the strength of the upper and lower brackets is completely different, but the format allows them to enjoy the same honor, at least in terms of strength evaluation, it's easy to confuse them..."

Sona, the "Flame Tail" of the Red Pine Knights, was also watching the match today. After seeing the more obvious gap in strength in this round, she still sighed as she looked at the match list.

"That's why the Knights' Tournament organized by the Commercial Alliance has no right to award medals to others, because the honors won through the competition are inherently problematic. The competition itself is problematic, and the participants are even more problematic. However, some honors don't need any proof, just like the Blood Knight, who was defeated but is still a great Infected Knight."

Another knight from the same order, Zalak "Greyhair" Grenati, offered his assessment without any reaction.

“However, what Sona just said is a bit off, isn’t it? Whether it’s the people who lost in the upper bracket or all the knights in the lower bracket, they are all very strong.”

Kuranta Knight Evora corrected Sona from the side:

"The reason they seem to have such a big gap is because their opponent is too strong."

At this point, Sona, thinking about their current situation, gave an awkward, wry smile:

"That's true... The operators we've seen on Rhodes Island lately have been more and more outrageous than the last... Won't we be a hindrance if we join them? Although it seems like they could handle all the suffering on Earth on their own..."

Instead of worrying about whether to quit because you'll be a burden, you should think about how to catch up and fight together.

Tomat's voice rang out, causing Sona to flinch. She turned around to look at Tomat, who was sitting with Frostnova, and greeted him:

"Instructor Tomat? You're here."

"It's always been here—isn't this Rhodes Island's private area? Why does it look like we've seen a ghost?"

After the match, Tomat immediately changed out of his gear and went to the stands in his usual uniform. What he happened to overhear prompted him to speak up.

Frostnova looked helplessly at Tomat, who was much more wooden than usual, and shook her head, both amused and annoyed.

Even if you're emotionally suppressed, you still can't help but speak out about these kinds of things. What can I say about you?

Thomas replied:

"I can't control it, but I think I haven't broken the seal yet."

He then spoke calmly to the members of the Red Pine Knights:

"There are people who are stronger than me who are doing the same thing, so I don't need to keep getting stronger."

"If you can achieve your goal simply by accumulating quantity, then you don't need to think about becoming stronger."

"I temporarily increased my strength using a strange method, so I don't need to think about getting stronger anymore."

Thomas paused, then continued in a noticeably more forceful tone:

"A ridiculous idea."