The story of the black silk female knight

"Well then... I just signed a few duelists recently, and I even got a professional duelist from America who participated in the previous two seasons to train them... Why don't you two train together for a couple of days, Valencia?"

"Then let's go."

Valensa had no reason to refuse:

"After all, I'm going to participate in the competition, so it's good to get familiar with it beforehand."

"it is good!"

Yashilo snapped his fingers, his interest immediately piqued, his eyes filled with undisguised anticipation for Valensa's humiliation.

This made Valensa puff out her cheeks, feeling even more unconvinced and more curious about dueling competitions.

The training ground that Yashiro built for the dueling competition was not located at the Nora Merchant Guild headquarters, but in a manor in the northern suburbs of the capital, about 15 kilometers away from the Nora Merchant Guild headquarters.

When they arrived at the training ground, Valensa and Thousand Leaf Grass did not go through the main entrance of the Nora Chamber of Commerce, but instead set off directly from the rooftop garden.

Here is Yashiro's exclusive mode of transportation, an airship, about the size of a bus, with luxurious interior decoration, and quite complete bedrooms, living room, dining room, kitchen and bathroom, almost like a mid-to-high-end residence flying in the sky.

This airship has decent maneuverability, roughly comparable to a helicopter, and theoretically should be applicable to various fields.

But the fact is that such airships are very rare in France.

The reason is simple: these airships are simply too expensive to build. Whether used for civilian or military purposes, the cost is too high. They can only become toys in the hands of the top nobles and wealthy merchants, just like Tia's arcane carriage.

However, the airship was indeed very comfortable to ride in, with no bumps at all, even during takeoff, landing, and when encountering turbulence.

Enjoying tea, snacks, and scenery while cuddling with a beautiful girl on such an airship is truly a pleasure.

For a small airship powered by a helicopter, a distance of about 15 kilometers is simply not enough to fly. Valensa had only had a few sips of tea before she arrived at her destination.

The training ground is quite large, and it looks similar to the primary and secondary schools in Valensa's previous life. It consists of a six-story building for living and an open-air training ground.

When Valensa and Thousand Leaf Grass arrived at the training ground with Yashiro, training was in progress.

Apart from one person whose attire was clearly different and who was probably the coach, there were six other duelists signed by Yashiro, four women and two men.

Chapter 2 You also want to see her get the short end of the stick, right?

The six duelists signed by Yashiro were all hot and beautiful girls, and the boys were all fair-skinned and handsome young men... Valensa felt as if this group was not going to participate in a dueling competition, but to participate in a beauty pageant.

"Because it's a commercial competition."

Having clearly anticipated Valensa's thoughts, Yashilo turned around and explained with a smile:

"It's less of a large-scale competition and more of a large-scale commercial event, designed to make money off the audience and get them to willingly empty their wallets."

So here's the question... Which do you find more appealing: a group of grotesque, ugly men brutally fighting each other? Or is it a fight between beautiful girls or fencing between handsome boys?

"Is that even a question? Of course, it's much more entertaining to watch cute girls fight than burly men brawling... Anyway, if I were paying to watch a match, I would definitely choose a match where cute girls fight!"

Valensa answered without the slightest hesitation.

"So..."

Yashilo shrugged and continued walking forward:

"When recruiting and signing duelists, every chamber of commerce prioritizes appearance and status, and only secondarily considers the duelist's strength."

That's why I wanted to sign you... Hehe, with your figure, looks, and status as a paladin, if you cried in humiliation after a defeat on the field, you'd definitely gain a lot of popularity and make me a lot of money, right?

"Hmph, you'll definitely be disappointed! You'll even have to pay a huge sum of money!"

The two joked and bickered, and soon arrived at the edge of the training field.

The arrival of their boss naturally caused everyone training on the field to stop and walk to the sidelines to respectfully greet Yashiro.

"You can go and rest for today."

Yashiro first waved to the six beautiful young girls and handsome young duelists, sending them all away. Then, he pointed to the young woman who looked like a coach and introduced her to Valensa and Chiba:

"This is Miss Serant, one of the top eight in the first Duel Arena, and she also performed well in the second Duel Arena. It's just a pity that the merchant guild she was originally signed with had some trouble, preventing her from completing the second Duel Arena... After that, she accepted my employment."

As Yashiro introduced her, Valensa also took a closer look at Miss Serant.

To be able to participate in the dueling competition, Miss Serant is naturally a tall and voluptuous beauty. She is wearing a dark blue top and trousers that look like an office lady's outfit, and you can see a white shirt with lace trim through the opening of the top.

She had short, ash-gray hair that reached her ears, a high nose, brightly colored lipstick, and gold-rimmed glasses.

How should I put it... her outfit, both in appearance and demeanor, is very similar to the kind of female teacher who bullies male high school students in some adult films from Valencia's past life.

After giving a brief introduction to Serant, Yashiro also introduced Valensa and Thousand Leaf Grass to Serant:

"They are my friends, and they are just participating in duels for fun... Just let them understand what duels are all about, don't force them in training, and let them have their own wishes."

"Understood, Miss Nora."

Serant nodded seriously, then gave Valensa and Thousand Leaf Grass a meaningful look, staring intently at Valensa's black stockings under her silver skirt armor and Thousand Leaf Grass's mesh bodysuit for several seconds before asking Yashiro for instructions:

"Then let's start now?"

"Okay, let's begin now."

Yashilo smiled and reached out to pull the eager Thousand-Leaf Grass back to its side:

"Don't rush... Let your older sister try it first. You can be the spectator with me. You probably also want to see your older sister get humiliated, right?"

"How could that be? Yashiro, don't talk nonsense! My sister and I are such good friends, how could I possibly want to see her make a fool of herself?"

Thousand-leaf grass first refuted the argument righteously, then her eyes widened excitedly:

"I really want to see it! Female knights and stuff... it's more interesting when they're defeated a few times, like in some novels and art books."

"...Tsk."

Valensa overheard the entire conversation between Thousand Leaf Grass and Yashiro, and was speechless.

I don't know why, but friends who get to know her seem to be very interested in all kinds of novels and picture books about female knights, especially those about female knights after they are defeated.

Even in the new VR gaming console at Wei's house, all thirty-odd erotic games featured female knight characters modeled after Valensa... Valensa even discovered while checking the game records that several of these games were ones that Wei and Arasaka Miyuki had played together...

Seriously... She's clearly a very proper female knight, so why does everyone always have all sorts of weird fantasies about her?

While inwardly complaining, Valensa's gaze towards Serant sharpened... She decided to take this seriously and not let Yashiro and Chiba laugh at her!

When faced with Valensa's sharp gaze, Serant's body tensed up for a moment, but he quickly relaxed.

She generously led Valensa to the center of the training field before asking her a question with a professional and serious attitude:

"What do you know about dueling competitions, Miss Bader?"

"Just call me Valensa, Miss Serant."

Valensa chuckled softly, then thought for a moment:

"I've at least read the rules of the dueling competition, and I've memorized them all... but I don't know anything else."

"You only know the rules... Hmm, then for someone like you, experiencing it firsthand a few times is definitely faster than other methods... I understand, then I'll play a few rounds with you first."

After a moment's thought, Serant made his decision.

She first took out a weapon that looked a lot like a flintlock pistol, except that there were two grooves above the handle for embedding magic crystals.

Valensa had seen this weapon before; it was called an Ice Crystal Gun. It could shoot ice spikes to attack targets using the power of wind and water magic crystals. Its principle and power were similar to an air gun. It could cause fatal damage to ordinary people, but it posed virtually no threat to cultivators above the Candlelight level.

Simply put, like the arcane missile launcher on Tia's arcane carriage, it's a flashy but powerless noble toy, basically only good for showing off in front of noble ladies; using it in actual combat would be suicide.

But judging from Serant's appearance, she seems to be using this ice crystal gun as her main weapon.

This puzzled Valensa... Could a toy that's so difficult to break through even against a Pearl-level knight be useful in a Lighthouse-level duel?

Chapter 3 The Losing Female Knight

Ignoring Valensa's doubts, Serant took out his main weapon, the Ice Crystal Gun, and after inspecting and adjusting it, he took out two pearl bracelets, wearing one on his own wrist and tossing the other to Valensa.

"You know what this thing is used for, right?"

"know."

Valensa nodded, took the bracelet, and put it on her wrist.

This pearl bracelet was commissioned at a high price by the organizers of the dueling arena from the Council of Sages. It's a magical item that, when combined with the magical barrier of the dueling arena, can act as a referee. It can also function like the scrolls issued during the War Academy entrance exams, automatically generating a magical shield capable of blocking a full-force attack from a Lighthouse-level enemy when a duelist encounters a life-threatening attack.

"That's good."

Serant smiled and extended his hand, the one with the bracelet, in a pushing motion toward Valensa:

"I know you have a lot of questions, and these are difficult for me to explain to you in words. The fastest way is for you to experience it for yourself. Let's start?"

"it is good."

Valensa extended her bracelet-wearing hand, placing her palm against Serant's in a high-five gesture, and recited the oath to activate the duel barrier:

"Here, there is no honor or victory."

Serant continued his vow:

"There is no humiliation or defeat here."

Finally, the two spoke in unison:

"In the name of entertainment, we present you with exciting battles!" x2

"The duel begins!" x2

With the oath completed, the barrier for the official dueling arena, which Yashiro had set up at great expense in the training ground, was also activated.

Two faint beams of magic, one black and one white, enveloped Valensa and Serant. At the same time, a magical projection of the two, magnified more than ten times, appeared in the sky, ensuring that every detail of the match could be clearly seen by the audience within hundreds of meters.

"...I went for it."

Seeing that Serant was just smiling at her after the duel began, Valensa, in the spirit of chivalry, greeted him first and then charged forward.

To avoid being ridiculed by Chiba and Yashiro, Valensa was very serious this time. While charging forward, she kept thinking, guessing what methods Serant might take, and preparing various countermeasures to deal with Serant.

Based on her own combat experience, Valensa had considered all the strategies a normal Lighthouse-level Knight might adopt when facing a charge from a Knight of the same level, but she still couldn't predict Serant's movements.

Serant made no attempt to dodge or defend; he simply stood there, raising his ice crystal gun and firing several ice spikes, each about the size of a little finger, at Valensa.

What does this mean?

Valensa was truly puzzled.

At first, she thought this ice crystal gun was special, perhaps a specially made weapon, whose ice spikes were enough to damage a Lighthouse-level knight.

However, upon closer observation and perception, this ice crystal gun was just an ordinary ice crystal gun, and the ice spikes it fired were extremely weak... It was indeed a deadly threat to ordinary people, but for Valensa, who could already take rifle bullets to her face, it was not even a mosquito bite.

There is absolutely no need to dodge; you can just withstand this level of attack. Any dodging or defensive maneuvers will only affect the efficiency of your charge.

Valensa's physical instincts and combat experience prompted her to do just that, and she did so without hesitation, taking the hits from Serant's ice spikes.

"Aha... I knew it."

Then, amidst Yashiro's predictable laughter from the sidelines, the first duel ended, with the victor being Serant, whose face was already pierced by Valensa's longsword.

"Heh, so simple... what?"

Valensa, of course, sensed the flash of light that signaled the end of the duel within the duel barrier. She initially thought she had secured the first victory with a single charge and was quite pleased with herself until she saw the duel result announced on the magical projection—that the white side's Serant had won.

"This...how is this possible? Is there something wrong with your duel barrier, Yashiro? Should I have Tia contact the Sage's Tower for after-sales service?"

Valensa found it unbelievable:

"She didn't react to my charge at all, she just fired one shot at me with her ice crystal gun, how did she win? There must be something wrong with the duel barrier, right?"

"So that's exactly how you react, Miss Valensa."

Serant seemed to have anticipated this and had seen this kind of scene many times before, and smiled slightly:

"Many powerful warriors like you with rich combat experience are also just as unaccustomed to dueling when they first experience it... Don't worry, there's nothing wrong with this dueling barrier. I did win that round just now. I took you down with one shot from my Ice Crystal Gun."

"This is impossible!"

Valensa couldn't believe it:

"How could a mere ice crystal gun possibly kill me?"

After she finished speaking, she quickly looked at her body, trying to find the spot where she had been hit by the ice crystal gun, but she couldn't find it after a few seconds... The power of the ice crystal gun was too weak for her, so weak that it was difficult to leave a mark on her body.

"Of course... In actual combat, even if hundreds of ice crystal guns were fired simultaneously, it would probably be no different from being caught in a rain shower for a powerful paladin like Valensa."

Serant maintained a calm expression, then pointed to the still-functioning duel barrier and patiently explained to Valensa:

“But dueling is different… I don’t need to actually break your defenses and cause damage, I just need to make this magical barrier judge that you have suffered fatal damage.”