In truth, Fabiana hadn’t wanted to use the Shield of Victory against Niubao. That was just bullying—it wasn’t fair.
“Don’t waste your breath on me. I’m not falling for your tricks anymore,” Fabiana said, then suddenly had a great idea. “How about we make a bet? Otherwise, there’s no real benefit to either of us if we win. If I beat you, you’ll come back to the Hero’s Party with me without a fuss.”
Since neither side could convince the other, and victory alone wouldn’t yield any practical gains, why not turn it into a battle where their fates were at stake?
The winner takes all. The loser loses everything.
“Then if you lose, give me your shield,” Samimi grinned.
“No way. It’s a treasured heirloom of the Dilmutt Knight Family. I can’t give it to you. Pick something else,” Fabiana shook her head immediately.
“You mean the Baron Dilmutt Family now,” Samimi smirked meaningfully. “Then leave your golden sword instead. You’re dressed entirely in white, but you carry a golden sword—it clashes so badly. Can’t you get a color-coordinated weapon?”
“Fine.” Fabiana thought it over and eventually agreed.
The golden knight’s sword was a precious gift from her father on the day she became a knight. Though not an heirloom, it held deep personal significance.
Still, she couldn’t bet nothing and expect the other side to wager their all.
“Niubao, your master is going all out. It might hurt a bit,” Fabiana said coldly.
“Please instruct me.” Niubao gripped her sword with both hands, her eyes determined—protecting her priestess.
“[Charge].” Fabiana crouched low and activated a basic knight skill, using the Shield of Victory to brace herself as she launched forward with explosive force.
Bang! Niubao’s eyes widened as she barely managed to shift her blade horizontally and block the incoming blow.
But she was forced backward step after step, feeling as if every bone in her body had been struck. She could barely stay standing.
The knight’s charge—like the mage’s magic shield—was a foundational skill, but also one of the most powerful in its class.
To judge a mage’s strength, look at the toughness of their magic shield.
The same applied to knights: if you wanted to know how strong one was, you watched how fierce their charge was.
Of course, saying it was easy—explaining it took more than a few words. Besides, Samimi had never charged at anyone herself.
“Niubao, be careful. Don’t take it head-on,” Samimi warned.
But they were on a narrow garden path, and the enemy had the advantage of terrain. Niubao had no space to dodge—she could only face the charge directly.
Whoosh… whoosh… whoosh…
The terrifying sound of wind-splitting returned!
Fabiana repeated her deadly move—a second knight’s charge. She barreled forward like an unstoppable white dump truck, shield-first, slamming toward Niubao.
“Hey, Pure White Knight! You should change your name to Pure Charge Knight!” Samimi called out sarcastically.
Niubao had nowhere to run. She dug in with a strong stance, arms crossed as she held her sword in defense.
Boom!
But it was no use. Fabiana’s charge blew through her block in an instant. Even Samimi’s Holy Shield spell shattered on impact.
Holy Shield could block physical attacks—but even it had a limit. It couldn’t hold forever.
Niubao flew like a ragdoll into a nearby flower bed, unable to rise again.
“Niubao, take this chance to reflect. Try to last longer next time,” Samimi commented bluntly.
She had noticed Niubao’s extraordinary talent. The girl didn’t even know what her class was, yet after only a month or two of training, she could already spar with the famed Pure White Knight.
And the fact that it took two charges to knock her out? With time, Niubao was destined for greatness.
“Now it’s just you left,” Fabiana said, pointing her golden sword at Samimi. “If you lose, our grudges end here. We’ll set aside our differences and move forward together. Come back to the Hero’s Party with me.”
The moonlight gleamed off the golden blade, interrupting Samimi’s thoughts.
“What are you talking about? You haven’t beaten me yet,” Samimi scoffed.
“You’re asking for pain. I’m giving you one last chance,” Fabiana warned.
“When you kicked me out of the party, did you give me a chance to speak? Stop wasting time—come at me,” Samimi stood with her hands behind her back, utterly unimpressed.
“Then don’t blame me for an emotionless charge,” Fabiana growled.
She raised her shield and powered into her third charge, storming forward like a raging white tornado—straight at the seemingly frail black-robed priestess.
Samimi didn’t move. No dodge. No block.
Letting Niubao fight was just to give the girl combat experience, to squeeze the last bit of mentorship value from Fabiana. Nothing to lose.
But in the end, Samimi always planned to beat these evil women herself—nothing was more satisfying.
Yet as the collision neared, Samimi just stood there… dazed, waiting for the charge.
In that fleeting second…
A thousand thoughts crossed Fabiana’s mind.
She saw Samimi waiting for death and felt a twinge of guilt. Her charging speed dipped slightly.
What was Samimi doing?
They’d already torn each other apart. This was supposed to be a passionate showdown. So why wasn’t she moving?
Why no reaction? No dodge? No retreat? Could it be… do you still have feelings for me?
In the end, Fabiana softened—she consciously held back 70% of her power.
Bang!
Even so, the shield slammed full-force into Samimi’s chest.
The unprotected little priestess crumpled like a sausage, her body bent into a sideways V-shape.
Niubao had the advantage of a sturdy build, so when she was struck, she flew away and could roll to absorb the impact.
But Samimi was just a fragile little nun—she didn’t get knocked away. She just got smashed on the spot.
Her spine must’ve snapped. No way she survived.
“Samimi, what the hell?! Why didn’t you dodge? Are you trying to die?!”
Fabiana panicked immediately, paralyzed with fear. She broke into a cold sweat.
She had never meant to kill Samimi!
“Is this your revenge? You’re going to haunt me forever with guilt?!”
She stumbled back half a step, her legs weak, then dropped to her knees in disbelief.
She had just killed someone in the royal palace!
Even with her noble status, she might escape punishment, but every noble in the capital would know she was a murderer.
Not to mention—her family had just been promoted to barony. This would bring shame to them and to her grandfather, the Knight King.
“You hate me that much? You’d rather die than forgive me?”
But this time…
She was way off the mark!
Fabiana had clearly been reading too many trashy romantic shoujo novels lately. Her imagination was out of control.
She’d completely forgotten why Samimi was nicknamed the Rice Bug—
Because she was cunning as hell.
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