One Against Three

Cliff turned his head and looked at Knight Eric, who was being besieged.

It's no longer a situation where Finley is running ahead and everyone else is chasing after him.

Now that Cliff had left, Finley and the others seized the opportunity, slowing down and unleashing a flurry of blows at Eric with their axes.

Finley knew that Eric's armor was extremely strong, and even if he struck with his Axe until sparks flew, he might not be able to do much damage. So after a couple of swings, he changed his target.

He and another knight surrounded Cliff, and both of them slashed at each other's horses with their swords.

Although the horse was also wearing armor, it was still just an ordinary horse. Each heavy blow made it very uncomfortable, and it began to shake violently and start to disobey Eric's commands.

Now, Eric is counting on Cliff to come back quickly so that the two of them together can put up a fight, but the intense offense and defense leave him no time to pay attention to what exactly happened to Cliff.

He could only keep complaining in his heart about why Cliff hadn't returned yet.

Fran was wondering why Cliff had stopped moving when Cliff did something that shocked everyone present.

Cliff simply removed his helmet, threw his weapon to the ground, and gripped the helmet tightly with both hands, making no other move.

The spectators on the platform understood that this action was a sign of surrender, indicating that Cliff had decided to concede. If he stepped out of the enclosure, he would be considered to have given up the duel.

Cliff, without hesitation, disregarded the horse's feelings and galloped straight towards the exit.

He knew perfectly well that if he continued fighting, he would likely be killed by Fran's sword; Fran's Arts was simply too terrifying.

He absolutely could not tolerate being killed by an apprentice like this; it would be tantamount to sacrificing himself to enhance the other's reputation.

So although he knew he might not necessarily lose the upcoming battle, the probability of losing was not small, and he was unwilling to gamble on that probability.

Furthermore, he could sense that Fran's horse was far superior to all the other horses present, even those that had been given enhancement drugs. This was a huge advantage in a duel where horse combat was the primary mode of fighting.

The people on the platform were dumbfounded when they saw Cliff run towards the exit without looking back.

Despite the large number of people, not a single one spoke, and everyone's expression was rather unpleasant.

Just moments ago, when Fran cut Cliff's weapon, they were marveling at how powerful Fran's Arts was, that she could actually cut through someone's weapon.

However, their words also revealed their thoughts on how Cliff would use the broken weapon to defeat Fran.

Some even predicted that Cliff already knew the attack method of this Arts, and that they would see Fran fall off her horse in the next three rounds.

But the scene before them left everyone speechless, as if they had swallowed something strange.

In the end, Maeve, still smiling, defended Knight Cliff:

"I think Cliff probably realized he couldn't defeat them anytime soon, and Knight Eric probably couldn't hold out for long, so he simply gave up."

"Knowing when to let go and finding the right direction is also a kind of wisdom..."

After Maeve finished speaking, no one immediately responded. Instead, they waited for two seconds before a minor nobleman changed the subject.

"Now that Cliff has left the arena, Knight Eric will next..."

Eric was now caught off guard. If the two men had only attacked him, it would have been fine, but they both aimed at their horses and began to whip them mercilessly.

Where is Cliff? Why hasn't she arrived yet?! Eric was burning with rage; he wanted to kill Eric hundreds of times over.

At such a crucial moment, they couldn't even offer him any help; he had truly wasted his alliance with them.

Just then, he heard the sound of rapid hoofbeats behind him, which made him happy, thinking that Cliff had finally arrived.

But then he immediately sensed something was wrong. Why were the hooves moving so fast? This wasn't the sound of that grassland warhorse at all.

He ignored the two men who were hammering his horse again, simply parrying the blows before straining to look behind him. What he saw made his mind go blank.

Fran was riding Black Horse, rushing towards him at a much faster speed than the three of them side by side.

Where's Cliff? Where's Cliff?! Cliff...

Tell me, where did Cliff go? And why is this guy in the black robe still alive?

He felt completely awful. Just a minute ago, he and Cliff were chasing Finley all over the field, but now Cliff was nowhere to be seen, leaving him to fight the remaining three.

Finley also noticed Fran chasing after them, though he was somewhat puzzled as to why Fran was able to keep up.

His expectation of Fran was simply that she could quickly clear out the followers in those areas, thus creating a fair opportunity for him and the other three Knight's Duel.

But now, not only has Fran caught up, and she seems capable of delaying Eric's attack even further, but Cliff has also disappeared without a trace.

Just then, the horse beneath him let out a desperate neigh, a long neigh that was almost the horse's last breath.

Eric wanted to insert the enhancement potion into his hand again, but he knew that if he did, the horse would die immediately.

This horse has reached its limit; no amount of strengthening can compensate for its inherent limitations.

He hardened his heart and looked at Finley on his right with hatred, making Finley sense something was wrong and try to distance himself.

But Eric was even quicker; he leaped sideways onto Finley 'Finley horse, leaving it almost overwhelmed and only able to surge forward by inertia.

"(Exaggeration), Eric, you'd do something like this..."

Finley was nearly driven mad; he hadn't expected Eric, on the verge of collapse, to drag him down with him.

If Finley is distracted for even a moment, the other knight will have an opportunity. Although they were teammates just now, they are now enemies.

Finley could even see the knight's smile on his side.

But at that moment, Fran, who was following behind, suddenly leaped up and used her Elven Swordsmanship in mid-air to accelerate forward. Red light burst from her longsword, and she slashed at Knight Eric's back.

The red light pierced through the hard armor, revealing the hideous wounds inside, allowing Eric to feel the pain of flesh being torn open for the first time in a long time.

Immediately afterwards, his spine was almost severed in two, causing him to lose all strength and fall helplessly off his horse.