The entire arena was in shock.
Arya, Daphne’s Guardian Knight, had knelt before Wendy in front of everyone.
This single act silenced the roar of the crowd in the spectator stands.
“Prince Wendy!”
Arya’s voice trembled with tears, filled with urgency.
“I beg of you, please stop this duel! Her Highness… she is no match for Princess Astreia! If this continues, someone will surely die!”
Wendy was stunned.
‘Wait, lady, your master is down there starting a fight, so why are you kneeling before me? Do I look like some neighborhood mediator who can settle your disputes?’
Seeing that Wendy remained unmoved, Arya was on the verge of tears as she rushed to explain, “I already told Her Highness! I told her that outside Sunset Fortress, Princess Astreia blocked the charge of over 100,000 Orcs all by herself! That kind of power is beyond anything we can imagine! She thought it was just the Valoran royals boasting, but Her Highness…”
Though she kept her voice low, her words still reached the ears of many curious spectators.
“Holy crap! There’s an inside story like this?!”
The students who had been watching for entertainment felt the expressions on their faces freeze instantly.
One person, blocking over 100,000 Orcs?
Was that even something a human could do?
Wasn’t that scarier than the Demon Race?
In an instant, everyone who heard the news turned to look at the Princess standing quietly below.
The temperature of the entire arena seemed to drop several degrees.
“Damn it! Quick, quick, quick! Change the bets! I’m putting my entire fortune on Princess Astreia winning!”
“Don’t push me! Damn it, I put 500 gold coins on the Donkey-Riding Princess, I need to cancel my order!”
“Where’s the bookmaker? Where the hell did the bookmaker go! Change the odds now! 1:200? Who are you looking down on! Bet on Astreia! It has to be Astreia!”
The gamblers who had been hesitant moments ago because of Daphne’s divine equipment now went completely wild.
In a split second, the stands were in chaos.
Countless people surged toward the small gambling table, slamming gold coins, vouchers, and even valuable jewelry onto the table.
“Astreia! I’m going all-in on Astreia!”
The girl in charge of the bets was almost in tears.
She waved her arms desperately, trying to maintain order, but she was shoved back and forth by the fanatical crowd.
“Stop betting! Stop betting! The odds have changed! 1:0.01!”
“I’ll still bet even at 0.01!”
Daphne, listening to the commotion in the stands and seeing her own Guardian Knight kneeling to Wendy, felt her face turn beet red with rage.
This was an absolute humiliation!
“Arya! You traitor! What are you doing!”
She screamed in fury.
“Stand up! You belong to me, yet you’re begging the other side?!”
However, Arya acted as if she hadn’t heard her monarch’s angry roar.
She remained on one knee, staring intently at Wendy.
“Prince Wendy, as long as you can save our Princess, my life will belong to you from this day forward! I will be at your disposal, no questions asked!”
Hearing this, Wendy fell silent.
A Guardian Knight of considerable strength as a subordinate?
This condition was quite tempting.
But just when everyone thought he would take the opportunity to do her a favor and stop the lopsided duel, the Prince slowly stood up.
First, he helped Arya up with a sorrowful expression that said, ‘I understand you perfectly.’
“Sir Knight, your loyalty is truly enough to make those who hear it grieve and those who see it weep. It is admirable. However — “
He turned around, facing the entire arena, and announced loudly:
“However! Do you not see?! This duel is no longer a simple matter of petty bickering! It concerns a woman’s dignity! It concerns a Princess’s honor!”
“Princess Astreia’s character and dignity have been ruthlessly trampled upon! She must use her own strength to wash away this shame!”
“As a man of conscience, I absolutely cannot interfere with this sacred battle fought for the sake of defending dignity just because of personal feelings!”
“This battle must have a winner and a loser! It must be settled!”
His speech was impassioned and soul-stirring.
Yet, it left Arya, who was kneeling on the ground, in complete despair.
The spectators in the stands were stunned for a moment, but then they erupted into thunderous applause and cheers.
“He’s absolutely right!”
This was exactly what they came to see!
In the arena, Daphne’s heart swelled with joy upon hearing these words, and she nodded in satisfaction.
‘See? This beauty of a Prince is clearly awestruck by my regal aura! His heart is with me!’
At the helpless signal of the referee instructor, Astreia and Daphne finally walked to the center of the arena.
“Astreia, it’s not too late to regret this.”
Daphne crossed her arms, speaking from a high-and-mighty position.
“As long as you kneel and beg me, and then give this man to me, I might consider sparing your life.”
Before her voice could fade, she kicked off the ground with explosive force.
Her entire body turned into a golden shadow, appearing before Astreia in an instant.
Her fist, encased in golden armor, flew straight toward the other girl’s face!
However, that heavy, powerful punch hit nothing but air.
Astreia simply shifted her body with a light, effortless movement, letting the wind from the punch graze past her cheek without even disturbing a single strand of hair.
Failing the strike didn’t discourage Daphne.
She merely backed up two steps and patted the armor on her chest with pride.
“It’s useless! My ‘Monarch’s Praise’ Magic Pattern Armor was crafted by a Master Dwarf over three years. It is inscribed with 365 Amplification Arrays! it doesn’t have any flashy skills; its only function is to boost my strength, defense, and speed to the absolute limit!”
She raised her chin haughtily.
“With all the Magic Patterns activated, I can kill an adult Dragon with one punch!”
“Whoa!”
The audience in the stands instantly let out a collective gasp of amazement.
“Killing a Dragon with one punch? This equipment is way too broken!”
The betting pool, which had been completely one-sided, suddenly saw new shifts.
Many people began to hesitate, and some even sneakily moved their bets back toward Daphne’s side.
“Maybe… I should put a little more on Daphne? Just in case?”
“Yeah, being able to kill a Dragon—that strength is too exaggerated!”
Listening to the crowd’s exclamations, the pride on Daphne’s face grew even more intense.
She raised both hands high, and the Magic Pattern Armor on her body erupted with blinding light.
Streams of golden Magic flowed and gathered across the surface of the armor, making her look as if she had turned into a miniature sun.
“Astreia, are you ready to face death?”
Her confident question drifted out from within the light.
Astreia merely raised her arm calmly in an inviting gesture and spoke three simple words:
“Bring it on.”