Chapter: 548
When the news spread that a match against the Allen Knights was about to be prepared, those belonging to the 1st Knight Division felt a mix of anticipation and fear in their hearts.
Everyone in the kingdom’s knights had grown up hearing the heroic tales of Benedict Allen or had witnessed his achievements firsthand.
Because of this, most of those standing here had dreamt of becoming knights of the Allen family. They imagined writing their own heroic tales alongside the hero who protects the kingdom.
However, their dreams never became a reality.
It wasn’t because the Allen family imposed restrictions.
Benedict Allen allowed anyone confident in their skills to take the exam.
Instead, he didn’t even bother to catch those who wanted to run away during the test. He even helped them escape while discarding their pride.
Because of this, knights who had taken the exam in Allen could never forget the scene from that day.
The exams that lasted through several sleepless nights.
The hell that made them certain they would lose their lives if they didn’t give up.
The feeling of defeat that soaked into their lives after escaping that hell.
They wished they could have just been prevented from taking the exam in the first place.
How happy would they have been if they had never known they were just average people instead of the geniuses they believed themselves to be?
If they had devoted themselves to taking the exam to join the kingdom’s knight division from the beginning, would they not have been crushed by this feeling of defeat?
Surely they stood in a position everyone envied, but in their hearts, there was always a looming sense of defeat.
And this sense of defeat only deepened over long years, transforming into an inferiority complex.
“The legend of the Allen Knights ended decades ago!”
The kingdom’s knight commander raised his voice. He, who harbored a deep hatred for Benedict Allen, clenched his fist.
“Who we will fight now are nothing but lowly fools who haven’t seen real combat in ages!”
The commander’s words were correct. After the death of his wife, Benedict had shut himself away, confined to his territory with the knights of the Allen family.
Meanwhile, what about the kingdom’s 1st Knight Division? Those who claimed to be the sword safeguarding the kingdom lived each day in real combat.
“This match isn’t about individual strength! It’s about the completeness of the entire knight division! Even if Benedict Allen is a monster, in the end, he is but one man! He can’t complete the whole knight division alone!”
As the commander yelled, the knights felt a glimmer of hope in their hearts.
Even if they had crumbled in the past, isn’t it different now that they’ve desperately wielded their weapons to overcome that feeling of defeat?
While they had soaked in blood, could they not bring down the knights of Allen?
“Put the honor of the royal palace on the line! You are the elite of this nation!”
The kingdom’s knight commander, Taboll, looked at the knights raising their voices alongside him, a smile of excitement forming on his face.
The humiliation from the incident at the Partlan family’s party last year had left a mark on him.
He had been called a fool danced around by a little girl, heard obscenities from his family, and faced subtle disdain from various knights.
But that ended today. If the knight division he had painstakingly trained could crush Benedict Allen’s knights, it would prove his competence!
Benedict Allen. I may not be able to defeat you with my brute force. But power is not the only strength that exists in this world.
Let’s see what the knights, who have been sleeping peacefully for decades, are really like.
As he watched the knights with gleaming eyes, he shifted his gaze toward the palace mage specializing in spatial magic.
Just recently, during an incident at the Soul Academy, he had failed to properly execute spatial magic, tarnishing the palace’s honor. The mage was now sweating profusely while preparing spells with his subordinates.
“Will this work properly this time?”
“Y-Yes, of course, Commander of the 1st Knight Division.”
“I hope it doesn’t fail. If I were to expose your incompetence again, several heads would roll.”
With a chilling smile, Taboll stepped into the Translocation Technique, casting his eyes on the view of the green plains. He had wished for another failure, but alas, what a disappointment.
“Looks like they were already here waiting.”
The knights of the Allen family had taken their positions ahead of the kingdom’s knights and were stretching their bodies.
They seemed to be tense for this long-anticipated real combat.
After all, it had been a while since they had engaged in real combat, so loosening stiff bodies was only natural.
Huh?
Taboll froze as he saw the Allen knights moving as if possessed.
Why does the sword wielded by a mere knight feel so heavy?
Looking at their faces, they didn’t seem that old, so how could they possess such skills?
No, it wasn’t just him. The weapons wielded by the others felt just as heavy.
None of them could easily be dealt with.
… Calm down. These are monsters who have gone through the hellish training of the Allen family.
The strength of their bodies was already expected.
They may be strong, but that doesn’t mean there’s a huge gap between us.
Just as they had repeated that hellish training, we too have lived through our own hell.
This difference is something we can surely bridge with experience.
As Taboll swallowed nervously while assessing the knights’ levels, the kingdom knights who arrived behind him snarled, gathering strength in their hands as they observed their opponents.
“Lu. Lucy! Are you really going to wear that armor!? At least wear something else on top of it!”
“Of course! Young Lady! No matter how legendary a blacksmith is, that thing is—”
Just then, the daughter of the Allen family appeared behind the knights training.
In normal circumstances, everyone’s gazes would have been directed towards Benedict, who was the aspiration of all knights.
The symbolism that Benedict Allen held far overshadowed everything else. However, this time it was different.
Instead of looking at the massive knight, gazes turned towards a bouncing little girl in front.
The girl, Lucy Allen, who was praised as the embodiment of a goddess from the heavens, donned odd armor no common adventurer would dare wear.
Should we even call that armor?
That thing that barely covered the essential parts—how can that possibly be armor?
A fine fabric was draped over it to conceal her skin, but that was about it.
The outfit, which revealed the shape of her body, seemed more suitable for a dancer.
A noble family, and the daughter of the renowned Count Allen—how could she wear such clothing!
The knights educated as knights of the kingdom blinked in disbelief at the sight defying their common sense.
Did she not realize how others would think?
Lucy Allen spotted the 1st Knight Division and casually flashed a playful smile.
“Huh?♡ Is it wrong to show myself like this to others?♡”
“Of course it is, why are you asking that?!”
“Why not?♡ What’s wrong with showing off my cute and cool appearance?♡ I don’t know!♡”
“Th-that’s—”
“Why?♡ What strange thought made you say I shouldn’t show myself?♡ I want to hear it from your filthy mouth!♡”
The knights of the kingdom, including Taboll, knew all too well what to say.
It was enough to say that there exists a decorum a noblewoman must uphold.
However, the people of the Allen family, including Benedict Allen, could only stammer at the presumptuous remarks of the little girl, unable to chastise her.
“Hah. I was feeling tense for no reason. I can’t believe the Allen knights are in such a state.”
A laugh escaped from one of the kingdom’s knights. What kind of a knight division is the strongest in the continent?
How could they be the terrifying presence of the continent when they can’t even properly admonish a cheeky little girl!
“Hey there.”
“What do you want? Did we say something wrong?”
As laughter seeped out, the knights of the Allen family flared up, but the knights of the kingdom stood tall instead.
“Even if she’s a noble’s daughter, to say nothing about that appearance?”
“Where on earth has the spirit of a knight gone?”
Even before the duel had begun, a tension rose amongst the knight divisions.
It felt as if the slightest signal could spark a brawl at any moment.
As they each gripped their weapons, awaiting the imminent clash, Lucy Allen suddenly bounced into view before the knights of the kingdom.
“Hey♡ You pathetic little knight with a whiff of virginity!♡”
“…Did you call for me?”
“Wow, you caught on!♡ You must be one of those who’ve never even held a girl’s hand, huh?♡”
The knight who stood at the forefront trembled his lips at her insults that could be heard in even a crowded market.
“What do you want?”
“I thought you were going to tell me?♡ What’s wrong with my cute and cool armor?♡”
“Everything is wrong! How can the noble daughter of such a high-ranking count wear such armor!”
“There?♡ There?♡ You don’t understand what I’m saying?♡ Are you so dumb you can’t comprehend a person’s words?♡ I clearly asked you to tell me what was wrong!♡”
The answer to what was wrong was simple.
Exposure.
There were far too many revealing areas.
There were places a lady of the court should conceal on full display.
But the knight couldn’t utter these words. To do so would risk the piercing gaze of Benedict Allen behind Lucy.
“Why can’t you speak?♡ You had no problem barking at my family’s dogs, so why are you silent now?♡ Huh?♡”
“…”
The knight fervently prayed to escape this situation, but Lucy Allen wouldn’t let up.
In fact, she took a step forward, raising her smile.
“Are you saying you find me desirable?♡”
“W-What are you saying!”
“Hahaha♡ Look at how flustered you are! I see now!♡ The kingdom’s 1st Knight Division is just a bunch of perverts who want to catch a glimpse of a countess’s skin!♡”
“I’m not! Please don’t insult me!”
“No?♡ If not, then why can’t you meet my eyes?♡ Why can’t you look at me properly?♡ Huh?♡ Huh?♡”
The knight swore on his blade that he had never been interested in a little girl. He was certainly someone with a normal sexual preference.
However.
Yeah. Just however.
The beauty named Lucy Allen in front of him exceeded any standard.
And because that young lady mentioned the word “desire,” he couldn’t meet her gaze.
“Wow♡ No way♡ You must be paying attention after all!♡”
“…Huh?”
“Pfft♡ Sorry♡ I just didn’t notice because you’re so small!♡”
While she mumbled what seemed to be an apology.
Trying to cover her laughter with her hand, she had no intention of holding back her giggles.
Her eyes glided over the knight who was looking down on her.
The knight, having lost himself in his thoughts, swung his fist, but it never reached Lucy Allen.
She danced around lightly, deftly avoiding his punch.
“Your sword is sloppy♡ Your punch is sloppy♡ Your character is sloppy♡ You’re a sloppy, sloppy, shoddy knight!♡”
“Young Lady…!”
“How could such a thing become a knight of the kingdom?♡ Did the commander hire fools and assemble a team of idiots?♡”
As her sneer spread, the gazes of the kingdom’s knights sharpened. The Allen knights readied for combat, but Lucy quickly got in their way.
“Do you not want to continue?♡ Are you scared of getting beaten by me?♡”
“You will regret it.”
“What are you talking about?♡ You’re the one who will regret it! You’ll be recorded in history as the pathetic knight who’s been beaten by a girl!♡”
As the exchange turned hostile, the first duel between the Allen knights and the kingdom’s knight division began.
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