The existence of the 'system' was not actually that high, and Lancer often forgot about its existence, but it also gave Lancer the most precise guidance. He was able to have a comprehensive understanding of his 'physical attributes'.
During this past year, he would only take out his long spear to practice when he was alone so that he wouldn't forget the feel of it, and more often than not, he would train with his lance, which caused his 'strength' attribute to continuously rise. Although it still hadn't surpassed 'agility', it was not far off.
At this time, his physical fitness was not even inferior to that of some Dangerous Beasts, coupled with the 'Berserker' passive skill, which added strength to heavy weapons...
He would be surprised if Esdeath could block this attack.
And after the other party realized the huge gap in strength, she very wisely gave up on a head-on battle. If a head-on confrontation wouldn't work, then she would use softness to overcome hardness.
"Snap~!"
Lancer didn't know if it was the girl's fighting spirit growing with each fight or the sound of the whip lashing that excited the crowd, but when the girl stood up again, everyone gave her a huge cheer. On the other side, Lancer, who had been holding his spear, once again leveled his lance.
There was no doubt that this was the signal to fight!
The long whip let out a whistling sound as it made a big circle and lashed toward Lancer, but Lancer swung his lance fiercely, trying to get it tangled. There was no doubt that as long as the whip was tangled on his lance, then with his advantage in strength, he would gain the upper hand in a struggle.
But Lancer knew this, so why wouldn't Esdeath?
"Snap~!"
Under Esdeath's swing, the long whip cut at a strange angle and lashed fiercely on the lance, but it didn't get tangled and just quickly grazed it. But this was not the end.
The long whip, which was one of the best strange weapons, was being commanded like an extension of Esdeath's arm. The sound of lashing was incredibly dense. There was no doubt that she was desperately trying to suppress Lancer without a care for her stamina, but...
"Hah!!"
Accompanied by a low shout, the lance in his hand swung fiercely from left to right. The wind pressure created by the lance instantly disrupted the trajectory of the long whip's attack, and Esdeath had no choice but to spend more effort to adjust her attack. But unfortunately, she no longer had a chance.
A long spear emphasizes going forward. Once an attack begins, it doesn't end easily. After using the wind pressure to disrupt Esdeath's attack, the lance, which was raised high, was thrust downward toward Esdeath's feet!
"Swoosh~!"
Esdeath, who had let go of the whip at some point, took out a short dagger from her arms and held it in front of her, but there was no doubt that this could not block Lancer attack. The lance in his hand was thrust fiercely into the ground beneath Esdeath's feet...
"Bang!!!"
Accompanied by an explosive bang, the ground beneath Esdeath's feet was once again destroyed, and this time, she couldn't get away. Her arms, which had tried to slow down Lancer lance, were almost exhausted. She was thrown into the air and finally landed heavily on the ground.
"Ooh ooh ooh!!"
As Esdeath fell heavily to the ground, the crowd once again erupted in cheers, and Lancer raised his lance to signal to the audience, and at the end, he bowed to the emperor.
And the emperor himself, who was sitting in the special viewing area, also clapped with a satisfied expression.
Just as Lancer had said before, the reason he had said those words was to prepare a 'way out', but he didn't expect Lancer to perform so well. And his deliberate action of taking off his shield and Teigu also made him very satisfied.
At the same time, he also made a mental definition of Lancer.
'He is trustworthy, both in terms of strength and other aspects.'
But just as everyone thought the match was over, Esdeath, who was covered in wounds, struggled to her feet.
"Huff~ huff~!"
At this time, Esdeath, who had suffered internal injuries from the heavy fall, was continuously gasping for breath, but her right hand, which was covered in blood, was still tightly gripping the dagger and glaring at Lancer.
There was no doubt that Esdeath's strength, which far surpassed that of her peers, also gave her a pride that far surpassed that of others. But when this pride was shattered, what was exposed was her 'true nature'.
A strong-willed and unyielding personality!
It was clear to everyone that Esdeath had already lost her chance to win. After all, Lancer had barely changed at all, but she had almost lost all her fighting ability.
"The match is over. You should go get tr..."
"The battle is not over! As long as I can still hold a weapon! Then the battle is not over!!"
Although her voice was already a bit shaky, the aura around her was even more frightening. Her stance, which was like a wounded beast, made Lancer can't help but frown, because at this time, he even felt that Esdeath had become more dangerous than before.
"It's useless. You couldn't defeat me even when you gave it your all. What can you do now? You can't even get past the attack range of my lance, can you? If you want to challenge me again, at least wait until your wounds are healed."
If Lancer had once looked at plot characters with colored glasses, the situation with Leone had made him realize one thing: even that boisterous woman was just a girl from the slums who no one cared about before she got her Teigu and before she joined Night Raid.
And the person in front of him at this time was not the 'queen' who had single-handedly blocked the foreign race army, but a fledgling 'girl' with a stubborn heart.
But his persuasion was interrupted by the other party in a rough manner!
"Shut up! No one in this world can dictate my choices! No one! If you want me to listen to you, then come and defeat me! Make me completely lose my ability to resist!! Come on!!"
After the shell of pride was shattered, what was exposed was the heart that had been twisted because her clansmen had been massacred. It could be said that from that moment on, the strong-willed and innocent girl had already died, and what was left was a completely twisted girl...
"Then... I'll grant your wish!"
From the other party's every word, Lancer already knew that there was no point in continuing to talk nonsense. So he once again leveled the lance in his hand, and the originally cheering coliseum gradually quieted down.
It was clear that ordinary people couldn't hear their conversation, but they could see the change in the two of them.
'Huff~ huff~'
In the heavy gasps, Esdeath's eyes were already a bit dazed, but she still gritted her teeth and glared at Lancer.
She hated this man, because he had defeated her!
But she was also grateful to this man, because this man seemed to be preparing to give her a 'glorious death'.
Suddenly, Lancer figure, which had been standing in front of her, became inexplicably blurred, and then she realized that she seemed to have lost sight of Lancer.
'Where is he?'
Along with her last thought, she only felt her consciousness gradually fading away...