Clad in silver-grey armor with metal gauntlets covering both hands, Lucian gleamed with a cold, metallic luster under the illumination of the tomb's "Undying Flame." In Andris's eyes, he looked like the most terrifying demon in the world. Andris still hadn't figured out what had just happened — how he had been so suddenly defeated, how the formal knight armor his family had given him couldn't even withstand a single strike!
Meanwhile, Joseline and the other noble scions were behaving as though they'd just witnessed an opera at the Holy Solan Grand Theater in Antiphler that preached about the Northern Church and every sort of heresy — they instinctively refused to believe their eyes. How could Borak, who had been merely a High-level Knight Squire just over a month ago, have grown so incomprehensibly powerful?
Having only recently ascended to the rank of knight herself, Joseline knew full well that even with the pair of Tier-3 Divine Arts short swords her father had given her, a set of Tier-4 Perfect-grade Rose Scale Armor, and the various necklaces, amulets, belts, boots, and gauntlets — all arcane items — she could never have casually caught a wildly swinging two-handed greatsword with one hand the way Borak just had.
"He must have an extraordinary item that boosts strength to the level of a Tier-5 Great Knight, and that longsword emanating such intense cold is at least Tier-3. And he definitely awakened his bloodline power — his knight rank may even be higher than mine! What a masterful concealment!" Joseline thought, stunned, as a wave of shame and humiliation surged through her. Borak must have awakened his bloodline at least a year ago; otherwise, it would be impossible to advance to Tier-2 so quickly. The nerve — hiding it from me!
Even if "Borak" had managed to assemble a full set of knight equipment enhancing strength, agility, balance, constitution, willpower, and recovery speed, a knight's experience and combat instincts were things no extraordinary item could replicate. From the ease with which he'd caught the greatsword, Joseline could tell with certainty that he had awakened his bloodline power — he was a true knight.
Joseline couldn't help but sigh with envy: "Uncle Beckmann truly was the favored youngest son of the late Grand Duke. The items on Borak far surpass anything I have."
She was born of noble blood. Her father was a high-ranking grand noble of the empire, their family controlling considerable territory and possessing wealth that ordinary aristocrats could only dream of. Over many years of accumulation, mid-tier extraordinary items weren't exactly rare in their holdings. But they were only not rare — without any spellcasters to craft items themselves, the variety of their equipment was exceedingly limited. For instance, even though she excelled with twin blades, the family treasury and the Marquis's private collection held only Tier-5 greatswords and war hammers. It had taken considerable effort just to assemble a pair of Tier-3 Divine Arts short swords, and they didn't have a single item capable of significantly boosting strength.
By comparison, the Plantagenet family, inheritors of the Blood of the Sun King Thanos, frequently produced bloodline sorcerers. Combined with their hidden arcane texts, alchemical manuals, and the like, the variety of their mid and low-tier extraordinary items rivaled even the imperial household's.
What she didn't know was that after Beckmann's death, all the extraordinary items he'd possessed had mysteriously vanished. Otherwise, Borak would never have fallen into such miserable circumstances.
"Devil…"
"He became a knight?"
"Run!"
A chorus of panicked cries reached Joseline's ears, yanking her out of her own spiraling thoughts. She looked around to see several noble scions who had yet to awaken their bloodline power scrambling away in a frenzy, not one of them daring to rush to Andris's aid.
They scurried about like panicked roosters and stray dogs. Contrasted with "Borak" standing in the corridor as steady and immovable as a mountain range, Joseline felt a surge of genuine revulsion — a bunch of cowards, the lot of them!
Although she was fairly certain Borak wouldn't harm her, Joseline worried he might do something "uncontrollable" that Alten would catch sight of. So she crossed her two short swords — their blades flowing with sacred light — into an X formation and retreated in orderly fashion, exiting through a side door. And just as she'd "expected," Borak didn't pursue.
"During that terrifying, tense moment, I was over there obsessing over Borak's equipment and marveling at the Plantagenet family's wealth of extraordinary items. If it weren't for him, things would have gotten incredibly dangerous. Ugh, this is the drawback of never having experienced real combat — letting your mind wander at precisely the moment you shouldn't!" After retreating into an adjacent corridor, Joseline berated herself. She had, after all, awakened her bloodline through her own strength. "But Borak has this side to him too — so captivating?"
With no intention of pursuing, Lucian watched the noble scions flee and left Andris kneeling on the ground, trembling. He had no interest whatsoever in defeating them — the more people there were, the more chaotic things became, and the better it served his purposes.
"Who goes there!" The Frost longsword snapped upward as Lucian "warily" fixed his gaze on a shadowy corner.
Clap, clap, clap — crisp applause rang out, and a graceful figure in form-fitting milky-white armor stepped forward with an elegant bearing, proudly lifting her chin: "A princess in need of a knight's protection."
It was Sophia. Holding an emerald-green magic staff, she said with a bright smile: "I didn't expect you'd already successfully awakened your bloodline power and become a true knight. Would you be willing to protect this pitiful princess, dear knight? The way you caught that greatsword just now — absolutely magnificent!"
She said she hadn't expected it, yet there wasn't a trace of surprise in her tone.
"I have always been the princess's knight," Lucian replied with a bow laden with double meaning. But however clever Sophia might be, she could never guess what he was truly thinking.
Nodding with satisfaction, Sophia's gaze drifted to the completely naked Andris — equal parts curious and bashful. "That strike of yours showed remarkable control. I thought you were going to slice off every protruding part of him. Oh my, how unsightly." She raised her left hand — the one not holding the staff — to cover her eyes, but through the gaps between her fingers, one could clearly see flashes of emerald green.
To be seen in this state by his heart's "goddess," the princess herself, and to be innocently mocked for it — Andris's face burned scarlet. He wished he could simply die.
"Let's go, Your Highness. We need to move quickly." Lucian had a feeling Sophia knew something about the inner workings of this underground palace, so he decided to let her tag along, making it easier to "observe" her covertly.
From the moment she and Bell had arrived, Lucian had sensed that events were about to take a bizarre turn — it was the premonition of a high-tier astrologer who had yet to achieve anything notable in stellar magic.
Sophia withdrew her gaze and walked over to Lucian, trailing a faint, pleasant fragrance. "Mm, I'm here to study the changes in the underground palace. Dear knight, remember to protect me!"
Only after Lucian and Sophia had departed did Andris finally lift his face from the ground — his entire head flushed crimson. What an utterly humiliating and infuriating ordeal! And "Borak" had completely forgotten about him, showing no intention of injuring him and sending him out of the palace, which only deepened his resentment — the fury of being utterly dismissed.
"Haha, Andris, what are you doing kneeling on the ground with your backside up in the air? Don't tell me — did he…? Hahaha!" A familiar, theatrical voice came from behind.
Andris clutched at himself like a girl and sprang to his feet, spinning around to see the companions who had fled earlier now cautiously creeping back.
"Hahaha, if Joseline saw you like this, she'd wonder what on earth we did to you!" one of the noble scions howled with schadenfreude.
"Andris, weren't you the one bragging that you were the strongest among the High-level Knight Squires? And you had formal knight armor too! How could you not even block a single sword from Borak? And now you're stripped bare, kneeling in front of him?" Another noble youth — one who had always been on bad terms with Andris — mocked him without restraint.