August 15th, Sunday, night.
It was also the highly anticipated final day of the Knight Tournament!
Over half a month of preliminaries and more than a week of main events saw thousands of Knights from all over the world battle each other, with victories, losses, deaths, and injuries, but regardless, it was a spectacular competitive event!
And in this month, they witnessed the birth of a legend—
A young Knight, only 18 years old, still somewhat naive, and even attending high school a few months ago, fought her way through the ranks to reach the final.
Initially, some thought she was an underdog, others believed her victories were mere upsets.
However, as one exhilarating victory after another was presented to the public, and the front pages of newspapers were completely filled with this valiant female Knight, everyone knew that this was not some lucky little girl, but a truly invincible Knight.
The Four Cities Alliance, with several large arenas, often selected venues for different matches by drawing lots.
But in the center of the Grand Knight Territory of Kawalerielki, there was the largest, oldest, and most magnificent arena—the Crown Arena.
This arena did not belong to any company, but was maintained and repaired with government funds, and its purpose was to commemorate the most ancient monarch—
"Who achieved a perfect record in the preliminaries?!"
"Who was never knocked down throughout the entire Tournament?!"
Over the broadcast, Big Mouth Mob's infectious voice was continuously hyping up the atmosphere—thanks to his brilliant commentary on Margaret Nearl during this Tournament, he suddenly gained many fans in the commentary world, transforming from an ordinary Liberi commentator from out of town into a top-tier streamer.
"Now, let us welcome the participant who is making her first appearance in this Knight Tournament, yet has accomplished feats that countless Knights could never achieve in their lifetime, and who, regardless of victory or defeat, will surely be recorded in the history of Kazimierz—Margaret Nearl!"
As the commentary ended, the more than 100,000 spectators in the venue suddenly erupted in cheers like a mountain roar and a sea surge.
"Margaret! Margaret! Margaret!"
At this moment, who the other opponent was, was no longer very important—Goki had said that unless the Sun Knight Solar himself came, no one could take Margaret's championship.
The current Margaret, compared to her a month ago, was more than ten times stronger; the combined effort of talent and hard work, plus the Supplement of her combat power's shortcomings, meant the birth of a legend was a foregone conclusion.
At least, today, even most of the exploitative company bosses did not make their employees work overtime on Sunday night, and even gave them a day off tomorrow.
The entire Kazimierz, and those places abroad where broadcasts were hard to receive, tens of millions of Knight Tournament fans, all focused their attention on this match—people didn't need to consider anything, only to fully enjoy the pinnacle of Knight Tournament.
After all, on the betting websites, Margaret's odds had dropped to the lowest—except for true gambling addicts, no one dared to bet on her opponent.
"Sigh."
However... Margaret Nearl in the lounge area, although already in armor, seemed somewhat unenthusiastic; her valiant aura had disappeared, and her small ears, which usually stood proudly upright, drooped.
"Tsk... Goki, that bastard, that liar, he said he would come to watch Margaret's match, but at the last minute, he ran off somewhere else—a love cheat! That scumbag!"
Beside her, Zofia, with a towel draped over her shoulder and holding a bottle of saline water and a sports drink, was cursing that bastard who couldn't come to watch, while also trying to encourage her beloved niece, just like a loud old coach by the boxing ring, her blue eyes filled with regret.
"It's okay, we also have an important mission. Fight well, we'll finish this quickly, and then we'll go find him! I'll block the reporter's passage for you in advance!"
Goki once complained that the combination of Margaret Nearl and Zofia was like a Columbia inspirational movie: an alcoholic coach who retired due to injury, and a talented athlete with grand aspirations. The two hit it off, and to make up for their shortcomings, they became a golden combination that went all the way to the national championship.
Of course, before she could say that Zofia was once the "Golden Left Hand" and Margaret could use the Vajra Fist, Zofia directly tapped her on the head with her retracted short whip.
Yes, at first, Zofia did hope to use Margaret Nearl to rekindle her own championship dream, and Margaret also wanted to prove that chivalry still existed in the world.
But now, they no longer cared much about their original goals.
"No, it's fine, Goki is so amazing, and Skadi Sis is also there. They both said they specialize in this kind of work, so it'll definitely be alright!"
Beside her, Maria was wearing a T-shirt printed with her sister's photo, holding a magnifying glass, carefully checking her sister's armor and weapons for any quality issues.
Although her own tail was wagging nervously, Maria still feigned calmness and smiled at her sister.
Previously, when Margaret Nearl was preparing for the Tournament, she was completely out of contact with her family, truly intending to go it alone, and Maria wanted to help her sister repair equipment, but she refused.
But now, Sister Margaret had become much calmer, her ideas were no longer extreme, and she had accepted Maria's request to repair her equipment.
In Maria's eyes, Brother Goki, during this time, wasn't just training Sister Margaret; he often discussed incomprehensible topics with Grandpa Marse and Margaret.
About the so-called "gods," about the current situation of Kazimierz, about the future of Knights—in the past, her sister had never talked so much with her grandfather.
Although Maria didn't know what they were talking about, she was certain that they were all important topics.
"I wonder if Brother Goki is used to the weapons that Master Koval and I replicated according to his blueprints... Attacking opponents with explosions, and being able to control lightning, it's such a simple and clever design. But I don't know what gunpowder is, and is an explosion not driven by an Art unit really safe?"
Thinking of the weapons crafted by her mechanics teacher, her grandfather's old comrade-in-arms, Grand Craftsman Master Koval, who had been excitedly working sleeplessly for several days after seeing the provided weapon blueprints, Maria felt a little regretful that she couldn't witness their power firsthand.
"And we also have a mission, don't listen to Aunt's words, Brother Goki wants us to drag out the battle as long as possible, with a dramatic plot, preferably to attract everyone's attention!"
Yes, Margaret's match also had her mission—she had to violate the Knight's creed and give her opponent false hope.
During this time, she had to become a false idol, to gather the gaze of all Kazimierz people on herself, to make them so fanatical that they wouldn't care about anything else.
And not to look at the infinitely dangerous starry sky above everyone's heads, on that false firmament.
Looking up, Margaret Nearl saw the shining stars—the bright lights of Kazimierz at night, and the dazzling spotlights in the arena, did not obscure the brilliance of the constellations at all.
But now, no one would pay attention to such an anomaly; even the scientists at the observatory were drinking beer and watching the match at this moment.
"You talk too much, you talk too much. Don't I know Goki is doing something serious? He's a great hero who's going to save Kazimierz—if the old man hadn't said so himself, I would definitely think it was a joke."
Zofia tugged on Maria's little ear, rolled her eyes at her, and looked down at the ground.
"Inside a mobile city, come to think of it, I've never been there—never mind, I don't care if that bastard lives or dies, I'll just enjoy my time with Margaret. After she wins the championship, some people won't want her to stay in Kazimierz for too long."
"Eh?"
"Hmm, yes, but at least for now, we are still fighting side by side."
Looking at her slightly surprised sister, Margaret Nearl smiled and nodded, then took down the hammer from behind her.
The Church Stone Hammer was a gift from Goki; she had been learning the technique of transforming slashes for quite some time, and her own saber had been given to Goki for other uses.
Exchanging sabers, this was the highest etiquette between Knights, representing comrades who entrusted their lives to each other—now, they were both going to their respective battlefields.
However, compared to the silver sword, Margaret Nearl still preferred the heavy hammer; she felt it was more comfortable in her hand.
These days, she had discussed many topics with her grandfather, and Goki had also taught her a lot.
Grandpa Marse shared his decades of experience as a Legion Commander with Margaret, and Goki recounted his observations from his half-year journey across Terra.
The current situation of Kazimierz could not be changed by one Knight's championship, but it was undeniable that, compared to the starving people on the Aegir coast and the wanderers in the Sargon wilderness, the bottom-level workers and employees of Kazimierz at least lived in a relatively stable environment.
But this was absolutely not enough; Margaret Nearl wanted the people to have better lives, wanted every Kazimierz person to be as proud as the Knight King, and for slaves like Sister Gravel to never exist... But the truth was clear: she was still too young and naive, hiding in the city, forever unable to understand the true nature of this world.
Just as improving combat power requires facing different opponents, Margaret Nearl resolved to leave the city she had never left and truly observe the myriad lives on Terra.
"Let's begin—I love you all."
Gripping the stone hammer in her hand, Margaret Nearl gave her Aunt and sister a big hug, then strode towards the arena.
[If everything goes smoothly, Brother Goki...]
And Margaret Nearl also made another decision at the same time.
Having received such help from Brother Goki, she definitely had to—repay him well!
In the center of the arena, a statue of a valiant Kuranta Knight, holding a holy sword, stood quietly, watching over the nation she protected.
— — — —
"So... it seems we came to the right place."
In the deep darkness, accompanied by blazing firelight, Goki looked at the broken and ash-covered statue of the Knight King buried deep underground, and exchanged glances with Skadi beside him.
"Dungeon, I really like it here, but... you two are here too?"
Then, he looked at the two extraordinarily familiar Sarkaz girls in front of him.
"Should I say... what a coincidence?"
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