Chapter 316

"I didn't do anything. You got into this bad luck because you got too close to me. If you can't even handle this, you should go and call your old manager back."

After saying that, he walked towards the field without turning his head.

As soon as he appeared, he was surrounded by reporters from newspapers and television stations, who held up microphones and asked him questions.

"Mr. Lucky Knight, do you have anything to say about breaking the duel tournament record?"

"The special tournament is next week. Is your goal this year's championship?"

"In this year's Competitive Knight competition, is there any opponent you don't want to face?"

Faced with the large group of media personnel surrounding him, Shi Lei simply replied with one sentence:

"Don't get too close to me."

Before they could react, the camera lens was suddenly shattered.

"Bang! Bang!"

The continuous cracking sounds startled the group of media personnel, who quickly retreated and created distance between themselves.

The camera broke down after asking just a few questions. If this were an interview, wouldn't it bring bad luck?

Shi Lei crossed a street and discovered that media were still secretly following him. He ignored them and went straight back to his Star Hotel to rest.

She has enough points to skip the remaining duels. The last five days before the preliminary rounds end are Maria Saria's stage.

"Alright, that's enough for today's practice."

Seeing Sophia put away her weapon, Maria stretched her neck and wrists, still feeling unsatisfied:

"Why did you stop? I'm still fine."

"Eight hours of training a day is more than enough. Continuing to train beyond that will only backfire. You need sufficient sleep to maintain a good competitive state."

"Alright, Aunt. Could you explain the Originium Arts combinations you mentioned earlier to me again?"

Upon hearing this request, Sophia was utterly speechless, wearing an expression reminiscent of an Old Man using a cell phone on the subway.

"Didn't I mention this yesterday?"

"Yes, I have talked about it, but I think it can be improved. I watched the battle of the Knight of Sargon last night, and I feel that some details can be optimized."

"Oh, you've stayed up all night again. You don't listen to your aunt anymore, do you? You're asking for it!"

Maria knew the other party wouldn't kill her, so she only used her hands to protect her face.

"Stop hitting me, Aunt. Now that the special training is over, does that mean I can participate in the duel tomorrow?"

Like Shi Lei, she is a newcomer who has just entered the Knight Competition and has to slowly climb up from zero points.

Maria's points are low due to having only completed two matches recently. To qualify for the Special Tournament, she must finish in the top 64 this week.

The simplest way is to have a duel.

Old Fu was drinking coffee when he saw Maria's eager expression and chimed in:

"Speaking of duels, have you seen the recent news? There's Lucky Knight who came out of nowhere and is incredibly strong. He's already taken the top spot in four duels in a row. In just two days, he's climbed to over 30th place on the leaderboard."

Although Maria has been undergoing special training recently, she hasn't been completely isolated. She has also heard of the Lucky Knight:

"Yes, I've watched it. I even downloaded his match videos online to study them. But I still can't figure out his style at all, and I don't know how to deal with him."

Only Sophia knew that the Lucky Knight was a 'plant' she had hired to help her niece. But she couldn't talk about that now, so she changed the subject:

"If you can't figure it out, then don't think about it anymore. The most important thing right now is to get into the top 500 on the leaderboard. You'll be facing more than just him in the future. We can study him properly when we actually clash."

Maria understood the wisdom her elders spoke of. But she still couldn't help worrying: what if something happened?

"But I really don't have the confidence to beat him. What if we clash when I register tomorrow?"

Sophia knew that Shi Lei would only participate for two days. But she couldn't say it outright, so she made up an excuse:

"Why are you so concerned about Lucky Knight? Just mind your own business. Even if you don't get first place, second and third place will still give you a considerable number of points."

Maria clenched her fists, silently encouraging herself. Restoring her family's glory was her inescapable duty.

"I understand, Aunt."

June 30, 1097, 9:50 AM

Maria submitted her registration form yesterday afternoon to participate in this morning's duel.

Coincidentally, the host was none other than Big Mouth Mob, a commentator who used to work for Howling Guard Company.

"La Signora and gentlemen, welcome to the Blazing Arena. Here you will witness the most intense battles among the Competitive Knight —it's absolutely spectacular!"

As you all know, Lucky Knight swept through various dueling tournaments in the past two days. He not only crushed his opponents but also broke multiple records in Knight Competition.

The Knight Association feels that one-sided matches are very uninteresting. To increase the excitement of the duels, a brand new mechanism will be added today.

Does everyone feel that the steadily rising scores are getting a bit boring?

Let's change it to a loot system: one point is added for a successful hit, and one point is deducted for being hit.

Ah ha, I can't wait to see them fight over a minute or two! This is an unprecedented competition format, the excitement level is off the charts.

Even if a player has a negative score, they will not be forced to leave the stage, which makes their comeback even more exciting.

Come on, come on, the contestants are making their final adjustments, let's wait for them to enter!

After hearing Big Mouth Mob announce the new format, Koval in the audience turned to Sophia and complained:

"These Commercial Union these days have absolutely no shame. Why didn't they release it earlier or later, but had to wait until Maria participated in the competition? Isn't that just disgusting?"

According to the previous rules, if Maria is attacked by multiple players simultaneously, she can still achieve a good ranking based on the number of valid hits.

But now that the competition rules have changed, she needs to be distracted and wary of other players launching sneak attacks. Otherwise, she might end up losing more points than she gains.

Sophia nodded, completely agreeing with Koval's statement. The plundering system had little impact on the Lucky Knight, but it severely limited Maria.

There are quite a few guys who want to climb over her to get ahead.

"You're right, the new rules don't look good for Maria. Hopefully, she won't be overwhelmed at the start."

Once all fifteen contestants were in place, Big Mouth Mob, took the microphone and gave a passionate speech:

"La Signora and gentlemen, the thrilling match is about to begin. There's only one minute left before the betting closes, so hurry and place your bets on your favorite player. I hereby declare the Blazing Duel Match officially open!"

As the fence slowly rose, the player closest to Maria was the first to provoke her:

"Nearl Family's youngest daughter, we'll settle your score with the Rust Copper Knight later."

"?"

Maria found it utterly absurd.

Olmer Ingla has so many enemies, it's impossible to pin the blame on her.

The Knight who makes threats doesn't care about any of that.

If he wants to climb over Maria to get to the top, he'll need to come up with a plausible reason. As for whether the Rust Copper Knight committed suicide or was murdered, who cares?

After a fierce battle, eleven of the fifteen Knight were wounded and forced to retreat.

Maria was surrounded by two or three Knights at the start and was forced to defend. Fortunately, these knights were not very strong overall, and she found an opening and defeated them one by one.

The name "Saria" holds a very special meaning for the people of Kazimierz. Shi Lei's presence as a spectator wouldn't arouse suspicion, as there were many Competitive Knight present.

This time, he didn't keep the Jade Shield active the entire time, lest Maria notice something amiss En route the competition. He would only activate the shield when faced with a threatening attack, and turn it off for minor scrapes.

After the final whistle blew, Shi Lei quietly left through the Passage Entrance and returned to the hotel to rest and wait for the next match.

Maria finished third in this round, earning only a little over ten points. Fortunately, there are still five days left, enough for her to accumulate enough points to compete in the Special Tournament.

In the afternoon, Maria participated in another duel. Although this one used a looting system, she didn't encounter a large group attacking her and won second place.

That evening, she invited Old Fu, Koval, and Sophia to Martin's Bar to celebrate.

"Maria, that Succubus Knight's move was really dangerous. I thought you were going to get hurt."

"Yeah, actually that was a feint. It looked like a big move, but it had no power. It was the heavy blow that followed that really shocked me... Hey? Uncle!"

Seeing Maria's unusual expression, everyone turned around to look at her.

Then, the acting head of the Nearl Family, Maena, walked over with a stern face:

"I haven't been able to take care of you for a while because of work. Why are you becoming more and more out of line?"

"..."

When do you plan to withdraw from the competition?

Seeing that the other person was keeping their head down and not speaking, Maena became as serious as a parent who had just pulled their child out of an internet Internet Cafe:

"The leadership has asked me about you time and again. Dealing with your problems in the publicity department takes up almost half my workday. Maria, now, immediately, go to the Knight Association to withdraw from the competition, do you hear me?"

The harsh tone, almost like a command, did not make Maria move an inch from her chair.

Seeing that she remained silent, Maena admonished her:

"Don't assume that the enemies you face represent the true level of the Knight Competition. The strongest members of those Knight orders haven't even made a move yet."

"But as the youngest daughter of the Nearl Family, I cannot stand by and watch my family be stripped of its noble status."

"Maria, how many times have I told you? The Nearl Family's status doesn't need the approval of that despicable Knight Association. Does their disapproval negate the achievements of our ancestors? That's absurd!"

You're too influenced by Margaret. She never realized her own foolishness, and you shouldn't blindly follow her.

What she originally despised most was commercialized Knight Competition. Yet Margaret herself participated in a competition she looked down upon, simply to demonstrate her so-called beliefs.

Margaret Saria, the Bright Knight, has been Maria's role model since childhood. Hearing Maena's praise, she unusually retorted:

"Uncle, please don't say that about my sister."

"What, do you think I'm wrong? Did her participation in the Knight Competition change anything? Besides making the companies' attitude towards the Nearl Family worse and making her seriously ill father deal with the mess she made, what else did it do?"

The title of "Bright Knight" should not have been bestowed upon her; Margaret was simply not up to the task of upholding such an honor...

"Uncle!"

Maria is no longer the child who would hide behind her sister when scolded by her elders:

"And what about you? Didn't you work for the company? You wouldn't allow my sister and me to Competitive Knight, yet you humbled yourself and worked for the company. You watched as the Nearl Family lost its status as noble Knight. Is this what you wanted?"

Seeing the tense atmosphere, Sophia quickly tried to smooth things over and de-escalate the conflict:

"Stop arguing, everyone calm down. Let's sit down and talk things over."

Maena glared at Sophia, growing angrier the more she looked at her. Since Maria's attitude was like this, there was really nothing more to say.

"Sophia, come out with me."

After saying that, he walked straight outside.

Sophia glanced at Maria, then put down her glass. She gently patted her niece's shoulder to comfort her, before getting up and going outside the bar.

Maena sat on a bench, reading the newspaper she hadn't finished reading that day by the dim light.

When the other person walked to his side, he didn't even lift his eyelids, his gaze remaining fixed on the sports news section:

"Is the Lucky Knight, who's currently riding high, the helper you mentioned to me a while ago?"

Sophia trembled slightly upon hearing this. She tried to brush it off, replying with an awkward laugh:

Why are you suddenly interested in this?

Maena closed the newspaper, and the yellow pupils beneath his blond hair gave him an unusually serious look.

Just answer me, yes or no?

Sophia was in a difficult position, but knowing the man's temperament, she hesitated for a moment and then nodded.

"This is ridiculous!"

Maena was furious because Sophia had made a deal with the Lucky Knight behind his back.

She hired a bodyguard for Maria, and the payment was a favor that the Nearl Family owed to him.

Whatever demands the Lucky Knight might make, he, as the acting head of the family, will ultimately have to clean up the mess.