Chapter 106: The Tin Knight and the Martial Arts Tournament (13)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 106: The Tin Knight and the Martial Arts Tournament (13)
The adventurer Kumara spoke.
“Should we just forfeit?”
At their leader and ranger’s words, Magia and Sitar both thought the same thing.
There he goes again.
The mage, Magia, spoke with an air of disbelief.
“If you were going to forfeit now, why did you even enter the tournament? You should have just stayed in the audience eating snacks.”
The warrior, Sitar, added his piece.
“The prize money and rewards start from second place, you know. It’d be a waste to run away after coming this far.”
Despite their two companions’ cool reactions, Kumara didn’t stop grumbling as he clutched his head.
“Gyaaaah! Why did we have to run into that monster here of all places! Couldn’t we have faced them just one match later!”
“You would’ve said the same thing if we’d run into the Lennart trio or the party of the Witch of the South’s apprentice… In any case, our reputation has gone up. Our rates will be higher from now on.”
“Still, I think the Branch Manager was right. It was worth participating. We don’t get many chances to fight people as adventurers… well, we do, but it’s usually just mobs of nobodies ganging up on us. We rarely get an opportunity to test our skills against true experts like this.”
“You guys are just too damn positive.”
Kumara grumbled, wondering if he was the only pessimist here. He spent the next ten minutes or so rolling around on the floor.
Then, he shot up, sat down at the table, and rested his chin on his clasped hands.
Seeing that their leader, who had been temporarily malfunctioning, was back to normal, the other two straightened their postures.
“Ultimately, one thing will decide this match: whether we can defeat that Tin Knight or not. If we can’t, we’re screwed no matter what we do.”
Magia countered.
“Wouldn’t it be easier to aim for the two watching from behind? There’s a rule that if even one team member is out, the entire team is disqualified after ten minutes.”
“That’s what I was aiming for at first. That rule was made specifically to prevent a one-man show from a single team member, like with the Tin Knight’s team. But after seeing every single person who tried that strategy get utterly crushed, I realized it won’t work.”
Kumara was certain.
It was impossible to ignore the Tin Knight and aim for the two behind it.
Every team that had targeted Dorothea and Sophia—either out of annoyance at the sight of them watching idly as if on a picnic, or for strategic reasons—had failed to break through the Tin Knight’s wall and suffered defeat.
“The tactic of two people tying up the Tin Knight while the third aims for the back failed. The tactic of trying to blow them away with area-of-effect attacks also failed. In fact, getting distracted like that only made them fall faster. So, we’re going to do the opposite. The three of us will go all out and aim only for that monster.”
Kumara continued to lay out various strategies, and Magia and Sitar either agreed or offered their own opinions, fleshing out the details.
The efforts of humans preparing to face a monster were truly a beautiful sight.
*
[The ‘Tin Knight’ is delighted, saying this will be a fun match!]
“Sir Tin, you seem to hold them in particularly high regard.”
[The ‘Tin Knight’ says that, surprisingly, it’s harder to find well-balanced, traditional parties like that these days!]
[The ‘Tin Knight’ expresses disappointment, saying it would have been perfect if only they had a cleric!]
[The ‘Tin Knight’ complains that while healers have always been nobles, the situation here is getting out of hand!]
“Clerics have been a symbol of the upper echelons of society since ancient times.”
The two non-humans, engaged in a conversation that was ambiguously in or out of sync, suddenly turned their gazes to the only human in their party, who had been maintaining a strange silence.
“Haaaah.”
Dorothea was in a terrible state.
A moderate amount of dark circles could enhance one’s decadent beauty, but in Dorothea’s case, it was so extreme that she had gone beyond decadent and into the realm of horror.
She looked so horrifying a ghost would have hesitated and cautiously greeted her instead of trying to scare her. One thing was certain: she was not a sight you’d want to encounter in the middle of the night.
Seeing Dorothea slumped lifelessly in a chair in the waiting room, seemingly without even the energy to speak, the Tin Knight expressed its confusion.
[The ‘Tin Knight’ wonders if making a staff is supposed to be that exhausting!]
“She is processing wood from a tree that contains enough mana to warp the entire ecosystem of a forest rivaling the size of a large domain. It would not be an easy task.”
[The ‘Tin Knight’ says it can only pray that her hand does not slip!]
Just then, someone knocked on the waiting room door.
“Everyone, it’s time to head out!”
The Tin Knight rose to its feet.
A delightful battle awaited it.
*
The arena was pristine.
It was hard to believe that just a day ago, it had been smashed beyond recognition.
As the knight and the two beauties entered the arena, which had been restored through the blood, sweat, and overtime of the civil servants, the spectators began to murmur amongst themselves.
“Are they just going to watch from the back again this time?”
“Mages have it so easy. They just order their magic doll around and it cleans everything up for them.”
In contrast to Adelaide, who had won the favor of many spectators, public opinion of Dorothea’s team was not so favorable.
While some had cheered at the appearance of a stunningly beautiful (and revealingly dressed) mage, they couldn’t help but be disappointed when said mage did nothing but watch from the back without so much as firing a single fireball.
Quite a few people decried it as an insult to the traditional martial arts tournament, and some even made extreme claims that they should be disqualified by decision.
However, these complaints dwindled with each passing day—specifically, with each victory Dorothea’s team secured.
“Ignorant fools always have the most to say. Do they think the mana to move a familiar comes from digging it out of the ground?”
“I heard that magic dolls aren’t normally that strong, and their decision-making skills are supposed to be poor. From the audience, it might look like she’s just watching from behind, but isn’t it obvious she’s the one giving all the commands?”
The Tin Knight’s strength was just that extraordinary.
It went beyond fighting on equal footing in a 3-on-1 match; its skill in preventing anyone from even approaching the two behind it was simply overwhelming.
As befitting the City of Struggle, Thracus was overflowing with critics who prided themselves on their eye for a good fight, and each of them offered their own opinion on the Tin Knight’s mysterious power.
There were various theories, from the Tin Knight being a fake with someone inside, to it being a secret weapon from the Imperial Family, a legendary Death Knight, or even the theory that Dorothea was a Tin Knight trainer. There was even a theory that the Tin Knight was the weakest of three great captains, and that if someone broke through its defense and reached the two girls, Sword Master Sophia would draw her sword.
“Both teams, prepare for battle!”
At the referee’s words, Kumara’s team gripped their bow, staff, and axe tightly.
On Dorothea’s team, only the Tin Knight took a stance while the other two remained perfectly relaxed, but the referee, now used to it, said nothing.
And then, the whistle signaling the start of the match blew.
Swoosh!
The arrow Kumara fired cut through the wind.
Its trajectory was aimed right past the Tin Knight, toward Sophia and Dorothea.
The Tin Knight moved nonchalantly to block its path, and the arrow, capable of piercing even rock, bounced futilely off its shield.
Just as he’d been waiting for, Sitar swung his axe with all his might the moment the Tin Knight moved.
Thunk!
The all-or-nothing blow, backed by his entire body weight, was deflected with a surprisingly light sound.
“This is just unfair…!”
Sitar broke into a cold sweat at the sight of it parrying his two-handed swing with just a one-handed sword.
Slash!
As if in return for the previous attack, the Tin Knight’s sword slashed Sitar’s body.
A line of red blood spurted from the center of Sitar’s chest.
The Tin Knight didn’t stop there and was about to launch another attack, but Kumara’s second arrow pinned its foot to the ground.
Just after Sitar, who had narrowly escaped the attack range, tumbled backward in a near-roll.
BOOOOM!
A massive ball of fire shot from the tip of Magia’s staff, scoring a direct hit on the Tin Knight.
Cheers erupted from the audience and fervent commentary from the announcer’s box at the sight of the explosion that covered a third of the arena.
Kumara shouted.
“Sitar! Your condition!”
“I’m fine!”
Although Sitar had been slashed across the chest, the wound wasn’t as deep as it looked. He had managed to reinforce his armor, clothes, and body with mana at the moment of impact.
When one thought of the pinnacle of the warrior class, sword energy often came to mind, but in truth, this kind of defensive ability was just as important.
The exchange was brief.
Magia was already preparing a new spell, Sitar moved forward to defend, and Kumara nocked an arrow, predicting the enemy’s attack route.
No matter what anyone else was shouting, they knew better than anyone that this alone wouldn’t be enough to take down the Tin Knight.
Watching their swift judgment and division of roles, Peter muttered from the audience.
“They really are a capable bunch.”
Which made it all the more regrettable, Peter sighed.
As if lamenting the fact that even when you do everything you can, even when you’re not careless, even when you squeeze out every last drop of wisdom and courage…
There are some gaps that simply cannot be overcome.
Fwoosh!
The sound of something tearing through the air.
The instant he perceived something flashing within the smoke, Kumara acted on pure instinct, bringing the bow in his hands in front of his body.
He felt the bow shaft snap.
And then, a dizzying pain in his stomach.
“Keuk!”
The air was forcibly driven from his stomach and out his mouth.
Before he could even register what had hit him, Kumara’s body doubled over and tumbled backward.
“Kuh!”
Sitar was the second to fall.
He had tried to hold his ground against the Tin Knight’s barrage, but facing it one-on-one without Kumara’s support was impossible.
After exactly three exchanges, the Tin Knight’s kick swept Sitar’s shin, flipping him upside down.
Just before Sitar’s head hit the ground, the Tin Knight swung its shield and sent him flying.
Like a baseball hit by a bat, Sitar’s body flew toward a certain point in the arena.
There stood Magia, who had been moving to the side to get a better angle for her attack magic.
“Kyaaah!”
Sitar and Magia’s bodies collided, and they rolled together right out of the arena.
Ignoring the arrow—likely picked up and thrown by the Tin Knight—now embedded in his own stomach, Kumara tried to stand once more. But before he could draw his sword to replace his broken bow, the Tin Knight’s blade was at his throat.
After flinching at the blade that had come to a stop right under his chin, Kumara quietly raised both hands.
“That’s enough!”
With the referee’s declaration, another match came to a close.
Team Dorothea advances to the team match finals.
*
“Will you continue?”
At the question whispered in her ear, Maris von Lennart glanced around.
Algind’s two guardian knights were heavily injured and collapsed on the ground.
In contrast, while Maris and her knights were each injured, they were still capable of continuing the fight.
After confirming this, Maris answered.
“No, I forfeit.”
Algind gave a silent nod.
Her expression barely changed, but to Maris, it looked as if she were smiling, as if to say it was a wise decision.
Immediately after.
The icicles that had formed as densely as stalactites in the sky above the arena vanished all at once.
Maris broke into a cold sweat.
She’s a monster. What in the world has the Crown Mage raised?
From her perspective, being eliminated midway through the martial arts tournament was somewhat disappointing, but not a major blow.
It was something she could laugh off, saying, We weren’t strong enough this time, let’s do better next time.
But the terrifying skill Algind had displayed was something she could never laugh off.
Duke Lennart and the Empress were political rivals, and the Witch of the South was a close friend of the Empress.
Sighing, Maris thought about how she would have much to report to her father regarding this tournament.
Team Algind advances to the team match finals.
*
That night.
“…Finally, it’s done.”
With only those words, Dorothea collapsed as if she were a corpse.
Wuuuung.
The pitch-black staff let out a low hum, like the cry of a child.