#106 Episode: Tin Knight and Martial Arts Tournament (13)
The adventurer Kumara said.
“Should we just forfeit?”
At the casual remark from the party’s ranger and leader, Magia and Sitarr thought to themselves.
“Oh, here we go again.”
The wizard, Magia, responded incredulously.
“If you’re going to forfeit now, why did we even enter the tournament? You might as well just munch on snacks in the audience section.”
Warrior Sitarr added.
“The prizes only start from the runner-up. It’d be a shame to run away after coming this far.”
Despite their cold reactions, Kumara didn’t stop whining as he held his head.
“Argh! Why did I have to run into that guy here! Couldn’t he come out a little later for just one match!”
“If you ran into the Lenart trio or the South Witch’s apprentice party, you’d have said the same thing… Well, I guess your reputation has gone up. Your asking price should be higher now.”
“Still, it seems like there’s some merit in participating, as the branch chief mentioned. While I’ve had my share of fighting while adventuring… it often involves just swarming against weaklings. Opportunities like this, to face real experts, don’t come by often.”
“You all seem unnecessarily optimistic.”
Kumara grumbled, feeling he was the only pessimist. After rolling around on the floor for about ten minutes, he suddenly jumped up, sat at the table, and clasped his hands under his chin.
“In the end, it all comes down to one thing: Can we take down that Tin Knight or not? If we can’t do that, our efforts are pointless.”
Magia questioned.
“Isn’t it easy to target the two watching from the back? If even one team member gets knocked out, the whole team is out ten minutes later.”
“I was aiming for that at first too. That rule was established to prevent a one-man show like the current Tin Knight team. But seeing everyone who tried that strategy get wrecked makes it clear that it won’t work.”
Kumara was convinced.
It was impossible to ignore the Tin Knight and target the other two behind him.
The sight of the two aimlessly watching like they were on a picnic was irritating. Strategic attempts to take down Dorothea and Sophia ended in failure as they could not break through the wall set by the Tin Knight.
“Strategies to tie up the Tin Knight’s feet while another targets the back, or attempts to wipe out opponents with area attacks all failed. Instead, being distracted that way just led to faster downfall. So we’ll do the opposite. We focus all three of us on that monster.”
After that, Kumara laid out various strategies, and Magia and Sitarr nodded, reinforcing the details with their own opinions.
The humans’ efforts to face the monster were truly beautiful.
***
[The Tin Knight seems delighted that it’s going to be an exciting match!]
“It seems like the Tin Knight has a particularly high opinion of those guys.”
[The Tin Knight remarks that these well-balanced traditional parties are surprisingly rare these days!]
[The Tin Knight laments that it would have been perfect if a priest had been among them!]
[The Tin Knight complains that while healers are usually nobility, that’s really excessive here!]
“Priests have always been a symbol of the upper class, after all.”
As the two non-humans exchanged discussions that were unclear whether they matched or not, they abruptly turned their attention to the only human in the party, who was maintaining a peculiar silence.
“Haah.”
Dorothea’s condition was serious.
The appropriate dark circles can enhance a sense of decadent beauty, but in her case, it was so extreme that it crossed over into the realm of horror.
She looked like a ghost that had come to scare but instead hesitated to greet. It was evident that she was not the kind of sight anyone wanted to encounter at night.
Not bothering to say a word, the Tin Knight expressed concern upon seeing Dorothea, slumped on her chair in the waiting room.
[The Tin Knight wonders if a staff has to be so difficult to make!]
“Processing a tree with magic powerful enough to bend an entire ecosystem, claiming an entire forest larger than a grand manor as one’s territory isn’t easy work, you know?”
[The Tin Knight wishes for smooth handling!]
Just then, someone knocked on the waiting room door.
“Everyone, it’s time to go out!”
The Tin Knight stood up.
An enjoyable showdown awaited him.
***
The arena looked pristine.
It was hard to believe it had been smashed beyond recognition just a day ago.
As the knight and two beauties entered the arena, restored by the blood, sweat, and late nights of officials, the audience murmured among themselves.
“Are they just going to watch from the back again?”
“The wizard has it easy. Just has to have the magical automaton take care of everything.”
While Adelaide garnered support from many in the audience, the opinion of the Dorothea team wasn’t as favorable.
Some cheered for the remarkably beautiful (and rather skimpy dressed) wizard, but there was inherent disappointment that she was just standing back, shooting not a single fireball.
Some criticized it as an insult to the traditional martial arts tournament, and there were even extreme voices demanding disqualification outright.
However, this discontent faded as Dorothea’s team kept winning.
“Idiots will always have too much to say. Do they think the magic that moves the familiar just comes from nowhere?”
“I heard the magical automata aren’t even that powerful and lack fine judgment. Although it may look like they’re just watching from the audience, isn’t it probably issuing commands?”
The Tin Knight’s strength was something else.
Not only were they fighting on equal terms at 3 to 1, but he also prevented the other two from even approaching.
Trakus, known as the city of battles, was overflowing with critics who claimed to have a discerning eye for fights, and they all expressed their ideas about the Tin Knight’s mysterious strength.
Theories ranged from the idea that the magical automaton was fake and a person was inside, to the notion that it was a secret weapon developed by the imperial court, or that it was one of the legendary monsters known as the Death Knight, even speculation that Dorothea was training a Tin Knight. There was even a theory claiming that the Tin Knight was the weakest among the trio and that if he got past the defenses, Sword Master Sophia would draw her sword.
***
“Teams, prepare for battle!”
At the judge’s command, Kumara’s team firmly gripped their bows, staffs, and axes.
The Tin Knight team took their stance, while the other two stood relaxed, but the judge said nothing as he was already accustomed to it.
Then, the starting horn sounded.
Whoosh!
Kumara shot an arrow that sliced through the wind.
It was aimed right at the Tin Knight, targeting Sophia and Dorothea.
Without a care, the Tin Knight moved to block the trajectory, and the arrow that could pierce rock bounced hopelessly off the Tin Knight’s shield.
And just as he had anticipated the Tin Knight’s movement, Sitarr swung his axe with all his might.
Thud!
The impactful strike, delivered by his full weight, made a surprisingly light sound as it bounced off.
“That’s just too much…!”
Seeing his two-handed attack being dealt with by just one hand from the Tin Knight, Sitarr broke out in a cold sweat.
Swish!
In a response to that very attack, the Tin Knight’s sword carved into Sitarr’s body.
Red blood erupted from the center of Sitarr’s chest.
As if that wasn’t enough, the Tin Knight aimed to follow up with additional attacks, but Kumara’s second arrow ensnared the Tin Knight’s foot.
Barely escaping the attack range, Sitarr tumbled back, rolling to the ground.
Boom!
A massive explosion from the giant fireball shot from Magia’s staff hit the Tin Knight directly.
The audience erupted in cheers at the explosion that covered a third of the arena, while excitement flooded the commentary box.
Kumara yelled.
“Sitarr! What’s your status!”
“I’m fine!”
Though cut in the chest, Sitarr’s wound wasn’t as deep as he’d feared. Thanks to reinforcing his armor, clothing, and body with magic at the moment of impact.
When people think of warrior skills, they often visualize sword mastery, but just as important is defensive capability.
The conversation was brief.
Magia prepared a new spell while Sitarr moved forward for defense, and Kumara calculated the enemy’s attack routes, readying his arrow.
No matter what the audience said, they all knew too well that mere efforts wouldn’t be enough to bring the Tin Knight down.
Watching their swift judgments and division of roles, Peter in the audience murmured.
“See, they’re pretty dependable.”
Yet, it was that reliability that made Peter sigh.
Despite doing everything they could, not relaxing, and wringing out their wisdom and courage, there was a clear gap they lamented over.
Boom!
The sound of something slicing through the air.
Right after recognizing something flashing in the explosion, Kumara instinctively raised his bow in front of himself.
Snap!
He felt the bowstring break.
Then, a sharp pain struck in his abdomen.
“Ugh!”
Air forced out of his stomach came through his mouth.
Without even realizing what hit him, Kumara bent backward and rolled away.
“Kugh!”
The second victim was Sitarr.
He tried to withstand the assault from the Tin Knight, but facing him one-on-one without Kumara’s support was impossible.
After exactly three exchanges, a kick from the Tin Knight struck Sitarr’s shin, flipping him over.
Just before Sitarr’s head reached the ground, the Tin Knight swung his shield and launched Sitarr away.
Like a baseball hitting a bat, Sitarr’s body flew toward a point in the arena.
That point happened to be where Magia, moving over to adjust her attack angle, was.
“Eek!”
Sitarr collided with Magia, and they both rolled out of the arena.
Kumara, trying again to rise from the ground, was undeterred by an arrow likely thrown by the Tin Knight sticking into his belly and attempted to pull out his sword before he was greeted by the Tin Knight’s sword aimed at his neck.
Seeing the blade tip approach his chin made him flinch, and Kumara quietly raised his hands.
“That’s enough!”
With the judge’s declaration, the match concluded once again.
Dorothea’s team advances to the finals.
***
“Are you continuing?”
At the question heard in his ear, Maris von Lenart suddenly glanced around.
The two escort knights of Alingd lay on the ground, severely injured.
In contrast, while Maris and her knights had sustained injuries, they were not in major trouble continuing the fight.
Confirming that, Maris responded.
“No, I’ll forfeit.”
Alingd nodded silently.
Though his expression didn’t change, Maris thought it looked like a wise decision, almost like he was smiling.
Moments later, the icicles clustered thickly in the arena suddenly vanished.
Maris broke into a cold sweat.
‘This is too monstrous. What in the world has the honorary magic master created?’
From her perspective, dropping out midway in the martial arts tournament was a bit of a disappointment, but nothing to be distraught about.
It was just a matter of saying she lacked ability this time and would do better next time with a smile.
But the terrifying skills demonstrated by Alingd could not be brushed off so easily.
Duke Lenart and the Empress were politically opposed, and the South Witch was friends with the Empress.
With a sigh, Maris thought about the many reports she needed to submit to her father about this tournament.
Alingd’s team advances to the finals.
***
That night.
“…Finally, I finished it.”
After leaving just those words, Dorothea collapsed like a corpse.
Boooom.
The pitch-black staff began to wail softly, almost like a child.
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