Chapter 88

Golden Week

Night.

As the sun set, the royal castle was completely surrounded.

The soldiers of the second prince, who had stormed the castle, began to take control of the interior one after another.

Their targets were the prime minister, the commander of the Third Knight Regiment, the first queen, and the first prince.

However, it was not going to be that easy. Despite the series of reversals, the other side had also devised a strategy.

After taking control of about half of the castle, the first prince's faction sent a suicide squad. They were willing to risk their lives to buy time. This was on the prime minister's orders, but now, buying time had no meaning. The empire's reinforcements would not come no matter how long they waited.

Still, the desperate resistance of the first prince's faction continued, and the battle within the castle dragged on longer than expected.

Thanks to the efforts of Sylvia, Eco, and the mithril alloy-armed soldiers, they cautiously and steadily broke through each obstacle.

Unlike their desperate opponents, they still valued their lives. A moment of carelessness could cost them their lives. There was no need to rush. Outside the royal castle, the second prince's soldiers had surrounded it, and any escape routes had been thoroughly investigated and sealed. Regardless of how much time it took, their priority was to subdue the area without casualties.

How much time had they spent on the suppression? The night had grown deep.

The figures of the prime minister and others were still not in sight. They were likely in the deepest part—the throne room.

"The path is clear. Let's head to the throne room first. The prime minister and others are surely there."

"Understood."

"Roger."

Winfred seized the opportunity when the enemy's formation broke and gave instructions to Sylvia and Eco, the most powerful forces, to charge towards the throne room together.

Why were they acting together? It was due to her own concerns.

"I found them!"

Sylvia called out. In front of her were the prime minister Bal and the commander of the Third Knight Regiment, Jarm. And another person...

"Damn..."

The moment she saw the face of that person, Sylvia's expression stiffened.

Deputy Commander Garam of the Second Knight Regiment—a name known to every knight in the kingdom, a true hero.

Garam stood guard, holding a massive sword nearly two meters long, protecting Bal and Jarm. This meant that Garam was on "their side."

"Deputy Commander Garam! How could a man of your caliber sell your soul to evil?"

"..."

Garam ignored Sylvia's words. His face, youthful despite his age of forty, showed a hint of fatigue.

Why did he come out now, and on the side of the prime minister? As if answering Sylvia's unspoken question, Winfred spoke up.

"Probably as a hostage, maybe his family. He hasn't been in the kingdom for a while, right? On a campaign? They must have taken him during that time."

"Indeed... How despicable!"

A calm observation. Sylvia's anger was directed at the prime minister and others.

...But. If possible, Sylvia wanted to avoid fighting Garam. Because...

"Of course, he has experience in title matches, right?"

Seeing Sylvia hesitate, Winfred realized the truth.

That was correct. Garam had participated in several title matches in the past.

This meant that his [Swordsmanship] skill was at the ninth rank from Infantry to Dragon King.

He was a formidable opponent.

"So, can you win?"

"No problem."

"Good luck."

The three had agreed from the previous day. If a "title match participant" appeared as their guard, they could win in a two-on-one battle.

Winfred, from an objective standpoint, believed they could win. Both Sylvia and Eco had their main skills at the ninth rank, and their combination as front and back line was perfect. There were no factors that would lead to defeat.

...Except for one point: "combat experience," which, though seemingly minor, was a significant factor.

"Understood. Sylvia and Eco, incapacitate him. Absolutely no carelessness."

As if to say, "We know," Sylvia and Eco stepped forward.

Finally, Garam spoke.

"Sylvia Virginia. I know your father well. Have you abandoned the pride of a knight for a two-on-one fight?"

"..."

It was a clever provocation.

Anticipating Sylvia's strong sense of justice and admiration for knights, he used her father to strike at her pride. It was a well-practiced psychological tactic.

"It's no good. Stay calm."

"Yes, I understand. But... there are times when I cannot back down."

"...Ah."

Winfred tried to stop her once, but seeing that Sylvia would not be deterred, he quickly gave up.

Sylvia was incredibly stubborn, almost as if she had been influenced by the Second. She was the type who would risk her life for justice and pride.

Therefore, it was inevitable that she would fall for Garam's provocation.

"Let's make it one-on-one."

Sylvia drew her bow, nocked an arrow—

"You're a fool."

"Wha!?"

In the next instant, Garam was right in front of Sylvia.

Then, his massive sword was mercilessly swung down.

"Ugh...!"

Eco intercepted it, struggling to hold up the large shield with a pained expression.

"Wow, you're amazing. To block that..."

Garam suddenly became talkative, praising Eco. However, his movements did not stop.

He took two steps back and readied his sword in a low stance.

What was coming? Sylvia couldn't tell and prepared her [Silver General Archery] while retreating.

"!"

Garam moved with his sword parallel to the ground. "It's a thrust!" Sylvia instinctively dodged to the side and prepared her [Silver General Archery]—

"You're too predictable."

Suddenly, Garam changed his straight movement to a curved one, canceling his [Knight's Move] and attacking with [Infantry Swordsmanship]. It was a highly refined technique, with multiple feints and诱导, making it impossible to avoid on the first encounter.

"Gah!!"

Sylvia was hit by the slash. Blood spurted from her shoulder, and she staggered back, falling to her knees about three meters away.

"..."

But, as expected of someone who had spent time in a high-level dungeon. She stood up immediately, ignoring the shoulder wound, took a step back from Garam, and calmly drank a potion to fully recover her HP.

"Yah!"

"Whoa!"

Garam's opponent was not just Sylvia. Eco, who had somehow joined the battle, charged at Garam with the skill [Rook Shield Technique], which had performed well in sieges. But...

"That's too big of a gap."

If it didn't hit, it was meaningless. Garam barely dodged and struck Eco's back with [Infantry Swordsmanship] as he passed by.

"Close call."

He couldn't activate it. Seizing the opportunity, Sylvia fired [Infantry Archery].

Garam turned and deflected the arrow with his massive sword, then closed the distance to Sylvia.

"I've grasped your firepower, Deputy Commander."

Sylvia muttered and prepared [Gold General Archery], a rare close-range skill in [Archery] that had both area-of-effect and knockback.

"..."

Quickly reading Sylvia's skill, Garam stopped and changed his strategy. From trying to finish her with a close-range [Silver General Swordsmanship], he switched to a mid-range [Dragon King Swordsmanship].

The preparation time was about four seconds. The gap was large, but so were the range and power.

"I've been waiting for this!"

Sylvia, seeing Garam start to prepare [Dragon King Swordsmanship], canceled [Gold General Archery] and began preparing [Rook Archery]. Even if she started later, with a four-second preparation time, it should have been enough.

"Not bad, but it's a last-minute effort."

Garam canceled [Dragon King Swordsmanship] with a calm expression. At that moment, Sylvia was certain of victory. She believed no skill could counter [Rook Archery] in time.

"Shut up! This is the end!"

Sylvia fired [Rook Archery] as soon as it was ready. If it hit, even a title match participant would suffer significant damage.

"If it were [Silver General], it might have hit."

But. Garam calmly said this and deflected Sylvia's [Rook Archery] with [Gold General Swordsmanship].

"What!?"

"At this distance, I can react in time."

The difference in combat experience showed. The preparation time of skills and their countermeasures. Garam's body had memorized everything perfectly without thinking, while Sylvia had to think and act step by step. The difference was too great.

"Huff!"

Immediately, Garam dealt with Eco, who had approached from behind, with [Silver General Swordsmanship].

A loud thud as the attack hit Eco's shield, and she stumbled. [Silver General Swordsmanship], even against a title match level opponent, was incredibly heavy.

"How about this!"

He followed up with another attack. Eco, unable to use her skills in time, could only block Garam's [Silver General Swordsmanship] with her shield.

"Aaah..."

She staggered back and fell on her buttocks, suffering from a concussion due to the impact.

"..."

Silence filled the throne room.

Sylvia instinctively knew they would lose. Despite the two-on-one, they would lose. It was a humiliation, and...

"Let's get fired up."

A long-awaited "strong opponent." As a member of Team Firstest, her fighting spirit could not help but ignite.

"No! This is not acceptable. Retreat, Sylvia. There's no need to rush. They have nowhere to run."

"No. If Deputy Commander Garam continues to wreak havoc, the damage could be incalculable."

"But it's dangerous. We should stop."

"Winfred... I'm sorry."

With those words, Sylvia turned her back. She had her own unyielding sense of justice.

"Prime Minister Bal, Commander Jarm of the Third Knight Regiment. Take this time to count your sins."

"Haha, what does a mere female knight know? You're powerless."

"I will judge you—Transformation!"

"!?"

Sylvia performed a sixth-rank [Transformation]. She was determined to settle this here and now.

A flaming mask and a flaming cloak. Flames burst from her light armor, making her look like an incarnation of fire.

"Tch...!"

Garam spat and prepared [Dragon King Swordsmanship]. In that instant, he realized that [Transformation] takes time and used that time effectively.

...It was a gamble for both.

If she could withstand [Dragon King Swordsmanship], Sylvia would win. If [Dragon King Swordsmanship] overwhelmed her, Garam would win.

"Come on!"

"Let's go, girl!"

Their timing coincided.

Sylvia, within the two seconds of invincibility after transforming, activated the maximum skill she could prepare, [Rook Archery]. At the same time, Garam's [Dragon King Swordsmanship] was activated.

Their skills collided, canceled each other out, and then—

"..."

—Sylvia fainted and fell to the ground.

The damage was not severe, but she couldn't counteract it. [Rook Archery], a single-target skill, was poorly matched against [Dragon King Swordsmanship], a ranged attack. As a result, she suffered the full "stun" effect of [Dragon King Swordsmanship].

"Haha! Well done, Garam!"

"Excellent! Finish off everyone here, including the second prince!"

Bal and Jarm cheered. They had just incapacitated their greatest threat. What had been a hopeless situation was now in their favor.

"Ugh...!"

Seeing Sylvia fall, Eco stood up and growled, a warning.

Garam, repositioning his massive sword, wiped the sweat from his forehead. He realized that defeating the transformed Sylvia was a matter of luck, as she showed no signs of damage even after falling.

And he realized. Could this girl...?

"Transformation!"

Indeed. Garam raised his alert level significantly.

"...The game is over."

This was the stage of a title match. By convincing himself of this, Garam's concentration increased several times over.

His opponent was not just a girl. She was one of the formidable opponents who aimed to win the title. Thus, Garam focused deeply, and gradually, all distractions and doubts disappeared.

"Hey, your family is already safe. There's no need to side with the prime minister."

Winfred tried to confuse Garam. But Garam paid no attention to her words. His concentration was so intense, it was as if he was in a state of "immersion."

"Kah!"

A loud thud as Garam's [Rook Swordsm