Winner! Xia Guang Knight! Maria Nearl!
As Big Mouth Mobu announced, Maria, who could barely stand on the arena, vaguely raised her arm. Hearing the cheers, she suddenly wondered.
—Was her sister like this back then?
No… her sister was a genius. She probably didn't fight as poorly as she did. When the battle was dragged into a prolonged fight, her victory was already assured.
The Stone source art of the Lingguang Family was light, both the scorching sun that was difficult to look at directly and the gentle moonlight that healed sickness and suffering. They grew stronger with each battle; before their Stone source art was exhausted, the knights of the Lingguang Family would never fall.
When the opponent didn't have the strength to directly overwhelm her, Maria could rely on her Stone source art to equalize the power gap, and eventually even achieve victory with a weaker force. For Maria now, this was her most efficient fighting style.
Returning to the lounge, Maria let out a long breath as she took off her armor. Physical pain wasn't difficult; given time, her Stone source art would resolve everything. The problem was mental. Prolonged battles tested not only the body but also the spirit. Like a marathon, no matter how fast you are, if your will is insufficient, you can't finish the entire course. And now, Maria was like someone who had just finished a marathon, only feeling relieved after finally outlasting her opponent.
"Maria!" Just then, Zofia rushed over, embracing Maria worriedly. Then she began to check her wounds. Most of the attacks had been blocked by the armor, leaving at most bruises. However, at this moment, for Zofia, the injuries Maria had sustained were a pain in her body and a ache in her heart. Strictly speaking, Maria could have avoided this unnecessary battle. But, perhaps for Maria, the harm sustained in the battle itself was not as painful as Zofia imagined.
Or rather, it was even a kind of joy, the joy of being able to help her family. She was always such a child. For her, the real pain was that day. The day she saw her sister leave—she was helpless then, and even had to be comforted by her sister. But for Maria, she was unwilling to always be such a protected person; perhaps that was the real pain.
So she didn't complain or cry. Instead, she smiled and said to Zofia, "See? Didn't I win? I'm very reliable even when my sister isn't here."
"Yes, yes, you're very reliable. But can you please protect yourself first? Do you know how worried I was watching from the stands? His sword was just a hair's breadth away, just that much, I almost wanted to rush onto the stage to help you." Zofia complained like this. As Maria's family, she naturally still wanted Maria to be safe; winning or losing didn't matter. "Forget it, saying this is useless to you anyway. Sigh… Margaret was like this back then, and you're the same. Can this be hereditary?"
"Ah hahaha…"
Maria, left speechless, gave an awkward laugh. Back then, watching her sister win the championship from the stands, her heart was filled only with joy, happiness, and even pride. She hadn't expected it to be a different matter when others watched her fight on stage. Her performance was indeed not very good. No wonder Aunt Zofia was so worried. But she wondered, was Sister Noah also watching this match?
Perhaps, probably, her somewhat unpresentable performance had been fully exposed in front of Sister Noah, whom she cared about very much.
Thinking of this, Maria's mood became a little low again. A young girl's heart was inherently so sensitive; even if she was a member of a knight family, she couldn't avoid it. She was the one who had boasted, and she was the one who couldn't achieve it, not to mention fighting so poorly this time. Sister Noah must be very worried. She also didn't know if she was disappointed in her. Would Sister Noah, who had supported her back then, regret it when she truly saw her in this state?
"What are you spacing out for? Let's go to the celebration banquet."
Just then, Zofia finally woke up the girl who was lost in thought. She patted her head and said dotingly, "No matter what, a win is a win. Let's celebrate first, and then we'll talk about what's next. After all, as long as you win, that's justice. It's better than losing, right?"
"Is that so? Eh heh, but a knight's battle should still be a bit more stylish, right? Like my sister."
"You think everyone can be like your sister? She's a genius. The youngest knight arena champion. Besides that triple-crown winner, I haven't seen a more talented knight than her."
"Hmm, I've heard of him too, that Black Knight whose rare cards are still very expensive now, right?"
"Not just expensive, there's only ever been one Black Knight card. Although many cards with the same image but different rarities have been released, it's said that the Black Knight himself only had that one photo taken, so the price of the first edition card has skyrocketed."
"Some people compare her to my sister, saying that if the Black Knight hadn't chosen to stop competing, then my sister's championship would have been questionable."
"…You can't say what others say is wrong. After all, that was the Black Knight; the prestige is immense. It's just, where is she now?"
Speaking of this topic, almost everyone in Kazimierz could say a thing or two. After all, knight arena had developed to this point. But those who could be called legends were very few. Margaret was one, and the Black Knight was a legend among legends.
Many Kazimierz people grew up hearing the legend of the Black Knight. As for the Black Knight's fate, no one knew. Perhaps she was still shining brightly somewhere. Perhaps she had retired and no longer intended to participate in battles. Who knew?
—
"Kuro? Why are you spacing out?" After watching Maria's match, Noah's heart had just settled when she noticed Kuro next to her seemed a bit off.
"Nothing." Kuro was still as laconic as ever. Facing Noah's concern, she maintained a very flat tone.
"What do you think of Maria's performance?"
"Terrible."
"It's okay to praise her." Noah smiled wryly. "It seems most knights are terrible in front of you. You can't use yourself as the standard."
"But I only understand my own strength," Kuro said bluntly. "I can only use myself as a standard."
"Alright, my mistake." Noah shook her head. "But at least she won, didn't she?"
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