"This guy's strength can even rival a Tigrex's charge... this is going to be troublesome." Craftsman Cat saw clearly that Maria's strength seemed to have diminished.
The weapon, which she could originally handle, suddenly became much heavier.
It was precisely because of this that she left herself wide open with that one strike.
If The Left-Hand Knight hadn't intended to end the fight in one go, he could have followed up with another blow to finish the match while her shield was knocked aside.
But The Left-Hand Knight did not deliver a follow-up strike; instead, he watched Maria return to her original stance with a grim expression, as if toying with his prey.
"This is The Left-Hand Knight's Stone source art.
His Stone source art can weaken enemies, and the longer one fights The Left-Hand Knight, the more easily one's stamina is depleted by his Stone source art, ultimately leading to defeat.
Although Maria is also skilled in prolonged battles, facing The Left-Hand Knight is precisely when prolonged battles are most to be avoided; the longer it drags on, the more dangerous it becomes for Maria." Noah explained.
"Although I don't want to admit it, Maria, as she is now, is probably still too early to face a Knight with an official title."
"Don't be in such a hurry! She has the crystallization of my hard work in her hands—if she can truly master the charge shield-axe she wields, then defeating the Left-Hand Knight is by no means impossible." Craftsman Cat wasn't anxious at all; she waved her hand cheerfully, "You have to believe in the Nearl Family kid, and you have to believe in my weapon."
"Is that all there is to it? The Shining Knight's sister, is this all she amounts to?" The Left-Hand Knight sneered, "Defeating you now is no different from tearing up a piece of paper."
"…"
"Can't you refute me? As a Knight, do you not even have the courage to fight back?" The Left-Hand Knight mocked, "Compared to your sister, you are indeed too weak. If your sister, the Shining Knight, were here, she would face me head-on. But you, you don't even have that qualification! At the same age, you are far inferior to your sister!"
Maria knew that she was indeed not as good as her sister, and what the Left-Hand Knight said was true. If it were her sister, she would definitely be able to confront the Left-Hand Knight head-on at this moment, instead of exposing a flaw that could lose the match in a single encounter, like she did.
If this were a life-and-death battle, she would already be dead—
Titus Baiyang… this Knight with a formal title, perhaps he wanted more than just to defeat her…
He wanted to completely break Maria Nearl's will.
Commander of the Blade Helm Knights, Noble Knight, High-ranking Commercial Knight, Former Top 16 Arena Knight—Titus Baiyang.
Logically speaking, Maria's points should not have matched her with him, but the problem lay here: the Knight Association held all interpretation rights for this matching mechanism, and it had nothing to do with her, the spokesperson. Given the Left-Hand Knight's strength, he could completely match Zofia in her prime, and was even much stronger than Zofia in her prime. For Maria now to face such an opponent was truly… too difficult.
The Left-Hand Knight was here to stop Maria; someone didn't want to see Maria continue to advance and had noticed that Maria was growing stronger at an incredible rate.
So, this time, they chose the Left-Hand Knight to be an insurmountable chasm before Maria. They were probably already popping champagne, weren't they? After all, the difference in strength was obvious from the very first encounter.
Along the way, she had defeated Plastic Knight, crushed Rust Copper, and each battle seemed to elevate Maria to a new level. Especially when facing Rust Copper, that dazzling Repentance Sword had already made this group of people feel uneasy. She even won the free-for-all, demonstrating excellent combat intelligence. Those merchants naturally wouldn't want to see Maria gradually grow stronger, nor would they want to see Maria truly transform.
The essence of capital is that it can't afford to lose—
In this battle, Maria's chances of winning… were actually terrifyingly low.
In fact, even Zofia and Manner thought she would lose this match… but it wasn't an elimination round, so losing one match wasn't a big deal.
The only one who believed Maria could win was probably Noah.
But rather than a rational analysis, it was Noah's hope that Maria would win; she needed to prove herself—
"Nearl…"
"To preserve your so-called Noble Knight status, for your outdated glory, you now look as weak as an infant that can be easily torn apart." The Left-Hand Knight scorned Maria before him, "You are not qualified to call yourself the Shining Knight's sister, nor do you have the strength to preserve your family's glory. All you can do is shamelessly cling on! Surrender now, and I can still leave you with some dignity."
"None of your business!" Maria gritted her teeth, blocking another casual strike from the Left-Hand Knight. Her arm was already starting to go numb. Her slash was easily parried by the long spear, then deflected. The weapon in her hand grew heavier and heavier. At this moment, Maria truly seemed like a child swinging a weapon in front of the Left-Hand Knight.
"It doesn't matter, now The Last Knight of the Nearl Family family—will be destroyed by my hands!" The Left-Hand Knight once again slammed his weapon heavily onto Maria's shield. He even deliberately aimed at the shield, again and again, "You keep retreating! Do your Nearl Family Knights only know how to retreat?!"
"Shut up!" Maria swung her sword with all her might, intending to charge forward, but the next second, the Left-Hand Knight showed her the advantage of a longer weapon. The Left-Hand Knight, wielding a long spear, had almost no openings. Maria's sword… couldn't even reach his armor!
"Very good, you finally intend to attack! But your sword! It's not on the same level as the Shining Knight's spear!" The Left-Hand Knight laughed as he defused Maria's charge. As their weapons clashed, Maria's longsword began to glow faintly, but the light was still so weak that even Maria herself didn't notice it.
"Nice weapon. I originally wanted to break your sword too." The Left-Hand Knight's first compliment was surprisingly about the quality of the sword in Maria's hand. "But if this is all you've got, then you should go hug your doll!"
The clang of weapons was incessant. Maria didn't want to retreat anymore. She charged forward desperately. She had no time to charge her power, unable to use Repentance Sword, and her attack range was indeed inferior to the Left-Hand Knight's. So far, Maria hadn't even touched the Left-Hand Knight once.
Is this… a Knight in the official tournament?
Time and again, her efforts were in vain. The sword in Maria's hand was already starting to feel scorching hot. She felt her sweat evaporating. If it were her when she had just joined the Knight Arena… she might have already surrendered.
But now, she was no longer the weak self of the past.
The blade was burning hot, and the light from Maria's longsword shone through the blade, as if it were red-hot.
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