While the Princess of Kazdel began mobilizing the only somewhat united organization in this stateless land due to a Feline's warning, Kazimierz, thousands of miles away, remained calm.
At least, that's how it appeared.
Days ago, the dazzling flash of light at the Nearl Family residence that night, and the explosion that woke many, were ultimately explained by Security Knights as a routine sparring session among the Nearl Family Knights.
Considering that these top-tier combat Knights indeed sparkle and make a grand show when they fight, the residents of the villa area accepted this explanation.
Moreover, after the break ended and the main events of the Knight Tournament began, Margaret Nearl, operating at full throttle, abandoned her previous low-key approach and began to unleash her Originium Arts on the battlefield, giving the audience a feast for their eyes and leaving every opponent in the main event defeated yet convinced.
So everyone felt that a little sparkle from the Nearl Family Knights was no big deal. In the enthusiastic atmosphere of the exciting main event matches, people had long forgotten all other troubles and were fully enjoying the joy of the Knight Tournament.
After all, the Nearl Knight, in whom they placed such high hopes, truly displayed incredible strength.
Upon entering the main event, when all the flashy special formats turned into genuine arena elimination duels, Margaret, who disliked underhanded tactics, was able to display her full power.
Margaret's progress could be described as miraculous; facing new moves from opponents she hadn't encountered before, she no longer panicked but responded calmly, absorbing various strengths and quickly gaining combat experience.
However, professional Knight Tournament commentators would notice that this dashing and handsome Knight, already dubbed the "Radiant Knight" by the audience, was becoming somewhat distracted.
Although she masked this emotion, many could still see that Margaret had lost interest in victory and the championship.
She abandoned the ability of a charging Knight to quickly rush and end a battle instantly; instead, she would deliberately prolong the fight, allowing her opponents to display their full strength before ultimately defeating them.
It should be noted that these opponents were not just any random weaklings.
The Candle Knight's home wasn't yet filled with hundreds of male servants, nor was Titus Poplar, the Left-Handed Knight, a well-fed spinach-eating match-fixing Great Master; these Knights were in their prime six years ago, and even Margaret needed to be careful and serious when facing them.
On several occasions, Margaret's opponents almost pushed the Young Knight to a desperate situation, but in the end, Margaret always turned the tide and snatched victory from the jaws of defeat.
Insiders were puzzled by this behavior, while outside tourists were exceptionally satisfied—having paid a high price for tickets, every extra second of the match was a bonus.
But the true purpose was known only to Margaret herself.
She needed to become stronger, rapidly stronger. The Foundation of a Kuranta Knight cannot be strengthened overnight, but Knights from all over the world, with hundreds of different combat styles, sword techniques, and even Originium Arts, could give her endless inspiration.
This way, Margaret could transform from the naive rookie who entered the tournament just to prove that the spirit of knighthood still existed, into a truly powerful Knight.
After all, what she was about to do next was not about proving anything—but genuinely fighting for the people of this country.
And so—days after visiting the Nearl Family to meet her family, in the courtyard of Margaret's temporarily rented room, a brilliance completely illuminated the yard after nightfall.
Clang————
With a crisp clang of metal, the rusty Saw Cleaver was directly knocked into the air by a heavy and swift backhand sword strike, embedding itself in the grass.
"Hmph, hmph, hmph—I got you this time, Goki!"
With a series of gasps, Margaret rested the longsword in her hand against Goki's chest, the adorable look of anger on her face finally turning into a joyful smile.
Every time they sparred at home, Margaret would be played and ambushed by Goki's agile and tricky fighting style to the point of frustration, but this time—it was her victory.
Across from her, Goki looked at the Hunter's Pistol in his hand, and after confirming that no matter how he changed direction, it would inevitably be blocked by Margaret's shield, he smiled and nodded.
"...Now, you truly deserve a champion's title—you are not just a Knight, but you have also learned the fighting skills of a Hunter."
With experience from the tournament and intense post-match training, the future Nearl Operator finally defeated Goki in a fair duel.
Although she was still some distance from becoming the future hexagonal warrior, compared to the current Goki, she was no longer inferior.
Though Goki could have allowed Margaret's blade to pierce his chest and counterattack without fear of injury, since Margaret was happy for once, Goki didn't want to spoil it.
"But remember, most of the enemies we face may not be human; they lack reason, fear no pain, are utterly fearless, and much larger—you must never stop attacking until they are completely incapacitated."
Like a slaughterhouse manager, he earnestly taught Margaret the techniques for fighting the enemies they would face later.
Goki knew that even if she won this Knight Tournament, Margaret was still just a novice when it came to monster hunting.
Reaching out, Goki encouragingly patted Margaret's little head.
Although Goki felt that this action didn't quite match Margaret's serious expression, upon seeing Goki praise his sister with a head pat, Margaret earnestly asked Goki for a head pat of encouragement.
Margaret stated that for Kuranta, this was just a common courtesy, perfectly normal for an elder to use with a younger person, so Goki agreed.
Perhaps... it's the same principle as horses being happy when you brush their coats?
"But, there's no rush. Those cultists have temporarily gone into hiding. Before the professionals find their whereabouts... I might even have a chance to watch tomorrow's final. Relax, winning the championship and then carrying out the mission is not too late."
Tomorrow was the final day of the Knight Tournament, where Margaret and her opponent would decide the rightful owner of the legendary honor.
Looking up, Goki gazed at the somewhat blurry starry sky due to light pollution, narrowing his eyes.
At least for now, judging by Goki's Hunter instincts and the perception brought by the Great One's blood in his body, the Unification Sect cultists had not yet begun their final operation.
The Great Ones' habits are similar to cats and dogs; they have an extremely strong sense of Domain. If another Great One invades their Domain or appears nearby, Goki's blood would become exceptionally agitated.
At least for now, Kazimierz was safe, but Goki knew that day wouldn't be far off.
"Oh, um, Grandpa and the others are also working hard. I will try my best not to be a burden in the final battle!"
Lowering her head and enjoying Goki's caress, Margaret tried hard to keep a straight face, not letting any expression of enjoyment show, her silver sword in her hand almost slipping, and her tail behind her wagging non-stop.
[Hmm, lying is wrong, this definitely goes against the spirit of knighthood, but, anyway, it's a bit unfair for Maria to enjoy it alone...]
Neither Margaret nor Goki noticed that the noble Radiant Knight was falling into an abyss of self-sacrifice in a strange way.
In these past few days, Master Marse's old comrades had led their respective Kalterer Knights to silently monitor the entire city, carrying out purges of the cult organization without affecting the Knight Tournament—Allens Choice was certainly not the only company that had been infiltrated.
As for Goki, besides daily life and sparring, the most frequent thing he did was search for the entrance to the Knight King's tomb.
Although he knew the tomb's location was beneath the Four City Alliance, Kazimierz Knights had always been fond of grand tomb construction. The Grand Knight Territory's tomb density was comparable to Chang'an, of the kind where a shovel's dig could unearth several tombs centuries apart; searching for a single tomb here was like looking for a needle in a haystack.
Fortunately, although the Director's memory had been wiped, she still retained some records. Combined with the fragments of information passed down through generations of the Nearl Family and the sheathed sword, Goki was barely able to determine the general location of the tomb.
After all, if the Director's exploration team had been there, there was no reason they wouldn't have found it.
And most importantly, when Nona Director came to Kazimierz, she had hired a group of professional guides.
Besides killing, they were also skilled at staking out and finding paths—Armorless Union had accepted Goki's employment.
"Aha, my Knight, you're enjoying being petted so much, I advise you not to tarnish the reputation of the Kuranta—catch this."
With a lazy and indifferent sneer, a black light streaked across the sky. As Goki deftly leaned back, it passed directly through the collar of Goki's trench coat and precisely stopped on it.
Goki raised his hand and picked up the "arrow" in his hand; it was indeed an armor-piercing arrow capable of puncturing Knight armor, but it was threaded with several pieces of fragrant grilled meat.
"Nona Platinum, this behavior is very dangerous—is this how Armorless Union guests?!
"
The brief moment of solitude was interrupted. Margaret looked up somewhat indignantly, glaring at the silver-haired maid in a short skirt and maid outfit, holding a compound bow, in front of her.
Heaven knew how Goki knew this Armorless Union woman, and even had her appear naked in his house a few days ago, but Margaret had no good feelings for this shadowy assassin organization.
"Our way of visiting is often not discovered by the homeowner, or ensures the homeowner never discovers us—this is me being a bit rusty."
The silver ponytail behind the black dress swayed twice. Platinum put her bow and arrow behind her back and yawned lazily at Goki.
"Skadi is still sleeping. The dinner Sister Gravel made, she insisted I bring it to you to try first..."
Completely unlike a maid, this Armorless Union assassin, who was still technically a prisoner, held a bag of potato chips and nonchalantly reclined on Goki's re-repaired, previously collapsed, lounge chair, crossing her legs, her skirt offering an unobstructed view.
"Tch, no trust at all. I fed you so many delicious things for nothing—throw the trash in the bin yourself when you're done, don't wait for me to clean up after you."
Looking at the black safety shorts under Platinum's skirt, Goki rolled his eyes.
Although she was supposedly captured by Goki to be a maid, how could this Nona, who was utterly useless and only cared about holidays, honestly be a maid? Her task was merely to act as a bridge and messenger.
During her week here, Platinum's melon-seed shaped face had actually become noticeably rounder—Goki was completely waiting on her.
"What are you thinking? Do you think I'm that easily bribed—I've finished all the snacks at home, buy some more tomorrow. If you buy me the most expensive macarons, I might consider taking off my safety shorts."
Her brown eyes were full of contentment. Platinum stretched and yawned contentedly in the evening breeze—it was much more comfortable here than at home.
But then, she remembered something and lightly tapped her head.
"Oh, right, one more thing—Black Iron is coming to our house tonight, remember to clean the house."
Before her words even fell, a vibrant, energetic call came from outside the door.
"Goki, I've come to play with you and Sister, and Aunt and this guest—don't pull my ear! Sister, it's Zofia!"
Looking at this noisy group of girls, Goki shrugged helplessly at Nightingale and Shining, who had poked their heads out from inside the room due to the commotion.
"I'll go to the kitchen to help Gravel add two more dishes—then I'll go wake up Skadi."
This small house, before the final battle, seemed to be getting a bit crowded.
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