Chapter 254

#254 Episode: Tin Knight and the Imperial Banquet (4)

In truth, Alingd never intended for the Tin Knight’s group to clash with the Lenart family right from the start.

The Lion Duke’s Bloodline was a massive group, and aside from those directly holding the Lenart title, there were many others involved, like disciples from their dojo or military officials.

Within the bloodline itself, there were factions—pro-family head, pro-senior member, neutral, those who were pro-family head but acted violently, and even those pro-senior members who were simply ignorantly swept along by the atmosphere. The relationships were convoluted and diverse.

No matter how competent Alingd was or how much support he had from the Empress’s faction, it was impossible to grasp every single detail and relay them to the Tin Knight’s group.

So Alingd suggested that they just pass the initial test, which could be considered a preliminary round, smoothly and save the hunting of lions for the second test when the number of participants dwindles…

[‘The Tin Knight’ says he should just overpower every blonde and purple-eyed person without overthinking it!]

[‘The Tin Knight’ insists that there’s a standard procedure for doing things from the ground up!]

…However, her sensible and rational suggestion was casually brushed aside by the notorious Tin Knight.

Alingd glanced hopefully at the other companions, but that too proved to be a fruitless endeavor.

After all, it would eventually be exposed, but it would at least be effective initially, and the Scarecrow even went so far as to suggest specific plans instead of trying to dissuade him.

The Lion, who might be thoughtful or ferocious, murmured that while they shouldn’t indiscriminately kill those not directly involved, it wouldn’t be a problem to rough up some folks as long as it remained within the scope of the exam.

At first, it seemed like the other members might hold back, but as the Tin Knight kept nagging on the side (though Alingd didn’t hear his voice directly, the atmosphere said it all), the Witch ended up throwing caution to the wind.

Is this truly the legendary hero party that took down two witches?

Alingd worried that they might accidentally take out not just the radical faction but also those aligned with the Duke. However, she soon had a profound realization.

In the end, it would just be the Duke who suffered, so did she really need to factor that in?

Is getting pelted by a meteoric Z falling from the sky really that person’s fate?

Alingd quickly wrapped up her rationalization.

Then, surprisingly, a peaceful flow like a tranquil river settled within her mind.

Of course, as Alingd gave up, the youths from the Lion Duke’s Bloodline who would end up getting pounded by the Tin Knight wouldn’t share in that peace.

“Hit them! Surround them!!”

“Damn, what kind of monster is this!!”

Smack! Bam!

Every time the Tin Knight flailed his limbs in his costume, members of the Lion Duke’s Bloodline fell one after another.

It looked so absurdly simple that other participants nearby thought along the lines of:

‘What? They’re weaker than I expected?’

‘With all this talk about Lenart, maybe rumors are just inflated.’

‘At this level, I could….’

If the young men had heard this, they would have tossed and turned in their sleep out of sheer grievance.

Objectively speaking, they were not weak by any means.

They could wipe out a band of armed rogues without a problem, and compared to the average knights of their territory, they weren’t even in the same league.

Had these guys faced the early-stage Tin Knight, it would’ve been the Tin Knight in the disadvantage.

Even if they were pitched against the Tin Knight after his magic circuits recovered, there would still be decent enough fighting involved.

But now they were up against the Tin Knight, who not only had restored his magic circuits but also had significantly increased his magic capacity and had added a remote magic supply function.

The abilities he possessed were truly multifaceted, but the most insane was his ridiculously precise magic manipulation.

While a typical knight might just unleash sword mastery or enhance their body, the Tin Knight had techniques like creating spikes from his feet to climb walls or blasting magic in the opposite direction to boost his attack power. He had an arsenal of creative uses.

The catch was that every little act of using such techniques consumed magic power.

The Tin Knight couldn’t generate or recover magic on his own, so merely standing still meant he continuously used up magic, which meant he always had to be consciously fighting efficiently.

In gaming terms, he had self-sealed all ongoing skills like [Fluid Magic Gloves: Continuously flows magic on physical surfaces to mitigate damage from attacks. Costs 6 magic per second when activated.] and minimized the usage of active skills, primarily relying on regular attacks.

But those days were over.

The remote magic supply, while slower than direct contact, allowed magic to be supplied during fights without needing separate rest or reboots.

So now, as long as he calculated his hourly consumption well, the Tin Knight could let loose with skills as much as he wanted.

The increase in power from this was such that, compared to when he started his travels, he could wipe the floor with the Lion Duke’s Bloodline youths, who would have been strong enough to be mid-bosses.

“…I’m so pumped up!”

Watching the scene from the sidelines, Dorothea shook her head in disbelief.

While she didn’t mind a heated argument when necessary, enjoying a fight for its own sake was an alien feeling to her.

Some participants attempted to ambush the distracted Dorothea, but none succeeded in their aim.

Bam!

“Gah!”

“Oof!”

Dorothea’s staff drew an exquisite arc and quickly subdued them all.

Her staff skills, which had leveled up as she faced the Tin Knight’s antics, reached a sort of peak… or rather, the staff moved as if it had a will of its own.

Glancing at the staff in her hand, Dorothea chuckled lightly.

What North Witch Olin had mentioned—‘I added a function to protect its master by itself’—was interpreted by her as meaning the warding magic would automatically be deployed against unwarranted attacks, but it seemed like it was a much broader concept.

“Who would have guessed that saying ‘like master, like disciple’ would apply here.”

She assessed him as a magician who liked to dabble in martial arts for no good reason as she silently faced the approaching foes.

***

Before participating in the exam, Adelheid found herself pondering one thing.

‘What kind of attitude is best to adopt?’

Considering it was Friedel’s revenge scheme, it made sense to approach it seriously and solemnly.

Yet, she also realized something.

‘If I keep maintaining this weighty demeanor, I feel like I might unleash my anger on someone innocent.’

Just as repeating smiles can instill positive feelings, actions and emotions are interconnected.

After having thoroughly vented out her frustrations at the Tower of Control, Adelheid had calmed significantly. But if she were to keep igniting the fighting spirit while being conscious of revenge, she might not know when the diminished spark could flare up again.

And that wasn’t what Adelheid desired.

She didn’t want to tarnish Friedel’s honor by massacring the innocent under the pretense of revenge or disrupt her companions’ journey to gather bad news for the kingdom.

So, she decided to establish one guideline.

While wearing a mask, she would not think of resentments or revenge.

Yet, someone might accuse her of being too lighthearted and cheerful while her family had been murdered.

So she resolved to act lightly, joyfully, and as if she had completely forgotten her grudges.

To gather all the negativity deep within her heart, lock it up in a box, and temporarily hide the key away.

And someday, when she finally removed the mask…

When that box opens…

At that moment.

《─Participants who meet at least one of these three conditions shall be granted the qualification to move on to the next exam. Furthermore, the number of qualifiers may be below 100.》

“Ah.”

Adelheid’s consciousness returned from her musings below the mask.

She quickly scanned her surroundings.

Was it because of her bright blonde hair and petite stature?

Even while just standing still, she felt the weight of many gazes upon her.

Some looked at her as easy prey, with mockery in their eyes, while others bore looks of suspicion and wariness.

Neither category offered particularly positive sentiments. The only warm gaze came from the Scarecrow with green hair, who was taking part in the same exam.

After the signal announcing the start of the exam rang out, several individuals lunged at her, brandishing swords.

And immediately thereafter, a large empty space formed in the center of the exam area.

“Huh?”

“What’s going on?”

Few could really see what was happening.

“Oh my goodness.”

One of the rare few to comprehend, Lyn, the leader of the adventurer party awarded the title of ‘Blue Gold’ by the guild, sighed deeply.

She replayed the scene in her head.

After the exam commenced, the masked blonde girl lifted something from the ground.

A lengthy pole about 3 meters long, whose purpose was unclear.

So smoothly rolling on the ground that nobody saw it as a weapon due to its excessive length, that blonde girl grabbed it with both hands and began to spin.

And without leaving a single soul behind in her rotating radius, she hurled everyone outside the exam grounds.

Just like sweeping away trash with a broom.

“What kind of power is that?”

Swinging a 3-meter long, thick metal pole, is something a regular person would already find impossible.

Yet, was she swinging it while several people dangled from it? Moreover, was she even balancing it so they wouldn’t hit the ground headfirst?

As the leader of a top-tier adventurer party, Lyn promptly directed her comrades.

“Don’t touch that masked girl.”

“I think I know who she is. She must be the one who supposedly took down the Master of the Tower in the Magical Kingdom, that Friedel—”

“—Adelheid von Lenart!!”

It appeared that the realization of the masked girl’s identity was not limited to just the Blue Gold party, as the other participants began murmuring in shock.

Blonde hair.

A distinctive feature of the Lion Duke’s Bloodline was evident among the enraged youths and their comrades.

“I’ve heard your rumors! The foolish girl who conspired with the Magical Kingdom to spread nonsense about the main family!”

“Do you dare to show your face here after such treachery!! Do you even know what shame is?!”

Usually, a multitude proclaiming condemnation has a power that alone can intimidate those it’s aimed at.

Especially when it’s from those wielding swords and emitting bloodlust.

Yet the girl didn’t show even a hint of being intimidated at all; instead, she tilted her head slightly.

“Do they teach you to fight with your tongues instead of swords in the main family?”

She unleashed the ultimate provocation without a care in the world.

To those who were silenced with rage, Adelheid, after appearing startled, continued speaking.

“Ah, well, I’m not really trying to say anything specific. I just found it a bit curious. If I offended you, I apologize.”

Whether intended or not, it was a strike so sharp it would bring forth admiration, and if it was unintentional, it was a venom far scarier.

The result was evident as those blushing red with rage from the bloodline and their disciples rushed at her in a fit.

In response to the approaching throng, Adelheid swung the metal pole once more.

Those who tried to cut her down or deflect her attack were sent flying on the spot, but those who focused solely on dodging managed to get up close to her.

At the moment sharp sword strikes aimed to pierce Adelheid, her body moved nimbly.

“—?!”

Five in total.

Those swordsmen who had rushed at her from different directions widened their eyes in disbelief at what they were witnessing.

The one who should have been skewered like a porcupine, Adelheid, fully evaded every blow with a mere shift in her feet.

They weren’t aware of it.

Recently, she had been actively utilizing her belt’s power in combat, but originally she was an evasive-type fighter.

She retaliated with swift kicks, elbows, and jabs, colliding opponents’ heads together with others and sweeping opponents off their feet.

In an instant, she crushed the five elite fighters and hurled the captured youths somewhere else.

Some other participants aiming for Sophia got knocked down by the human projectile.

“Thank you, Adel!”

“Oh, it was nothing really. But, um, could you please look after this one here? Their bone seems weaker than expected, and the attack went a bit deeper.”

“Ah, I see. I should tend to that. We should also check on the one with the crushed jaw next to them.”

As the two casually conversed, the other participants simultaneously thought.

Madmen have arrived.

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