Lance stood in the distance and drew his Knight’s Longsword, settling into an offensive stance.
Mapele did not care at all; her gaze was fixed solely on the Elf Princess in the distance.
She saw the girl’s hands clenched into fists against her chest, her eyes fixed unmovingly on Lance’s back.
Her lips trembled slightly, as if she were cheering him on.
‘How pathetic!’
Mapele felt a pang of frustration. They had known each other for less than thirty minutes, hadn’t they?
Why was she so infatuated?
‘I’m the one who watched you grow up!’
Thinking of this, Mapele narrowed her eyes and turned her gaze toward Lance, her expression becoming increasingly unfriendly.
She had already decided to teach this boy a harsh lesson and let him know that a royal princess was not someone just anyone could covet!
As a veteran Saint Rank powerhouse, it was naturally impossible for Mapele to truly go all out against a High Rank junior.
To her, Lance’s challenge was merely a young man’s way of proving his courage and determination.
With a sharp sound, Lance suddenly lunged forward like a literal sword. He moved so quickly that even Mapele could not capture his trajectory.
‘How is this possible?’
Mapele stood her ground and immediately released a Holy Power Shield that covered every angle, hurriedly pushing out her divine sense to investigate the surroundings.
‘Did I misjudge him? Is this boy actually an Elemental Tier Knight?’
Mapele’s mind raced as she struggled to understand what was happening.
However, how could she have known that her strength in this world was restricted by the perception of the young girl in the distance?
The moment Astrid truly believed Lance’s words, the Dream had quietly begun to change.
Unknowingly, Mapele’s strength had quietly diminished, dropping a level from what the Elf girl considered the “strongest” tier.
On the other hand, the moment Lance charged out, he immediately realized he had become stronger!
After all, how could he have reached such speed as a mere early High Rank?
However, Lance could not yet perfectly control this sudden surge of power.
He flew straight out like a cannonball and only managed to stop just before slamming into the wall of the Underground Hall.
Meanwhile, the “Saint Rank” Cardinal was still looking around for Lance’s figure.
Taking advantage of the moment, Lance immediately adjusted the surge of power within his body and charged out once more.
His longsword stabbed directly at the back of the Cardinal’s robe.
Clang —
The sound of clashing metal echoed through the hall. Lance’s longsword was blocked by the Holy Power Shield, and he was nearly sent flying back by the recoil.
It was only then that Mapele realized something was wrong with her own state.
Startled by the movement behind her, Mapele turned around in a hurry, only to find the young Knight raising his longsword, preparing for a heavy overhead strike against the shield!
Sensing that things were amiss, Mapele threw her arms wide and formed a hand seal, instantly releasing a wave of Holy Power with immense concussive force.
With a thud, Lance was sent flying, but he was only sent flying!
Lance staggered for a moment before racing forward once again. Seeing this, a smile bloomed on Astrid’s nervous face.
‘It looks like he might actually win!’
Realizing that her condition was being severely affected by some unknown factor, Mapele no longer dared to be overconfident. She chose to directly utilize her Element [Light]!
Whether the Knight before her was in the Elemental Tier or not, wouldn’t she know after attacking him with the power of an Element?
A faint golden shimmer surged and quickly gathered in front of the Cardinal’s chest. In an instant, a crescent-shaped Blade of Radiance condensed into being.
Whoosh —
It shot directly toward Lance. Lance did not dodge or evade. Instead, he swung his longsword upward, shattering the Blade of Radiance directly!
‘Is he really in the Elemental Tier?’
Mapele felt no surprise at the confirmation, only deep confusion.
An Elemental Tier powerhouse was considered high-level combat power anywhere, so why was this Knight here to become an Oathbound Knight?
As a high-ranking, traditional Cardinal, Mapele had never paid much attention to secular matters. She truly did not know if any young talents had reached the Elemental Tier in recent years.
However, the young man before her was undoubtedly part of the younger generation.
If he possessed the strength of the Elemental Tier, no one would object even if he were appointed as the Vice Commander of the Sanctuary!
What on earth was the Elf King thinking? Instead of trying to keep such a top-tier talent firmly under his control, he was brushing him off with the position of an Oathbound Knight?
Mapele’s thoughts were in disarray; she could not make sense of the situation.
Little did she know that the reason her attacks were ineffective was that a certain Low-order Princess simply could not comprehend a battle at the Elemental Tier.
It was completely beyond her current understanding!
For a moment, Mapele became uncertain, seriously suspecting that this was a deliberate arrangement by the Elgar Royal Family.
If she truly went all out and forcibly interrupted the Covenant Ceremony between the two, would she be ruining the arrangements of that paranoid Elf King?
Besides, if he was in the Elemental Tier… he indeed seemed capable of escorting the Princess through the human world…
‘If this really is the Elf King’s arrangement, then there’s no need for me to worry about it…’
At this thought, Mapele’s mind suddenly cleared.
She flashed a smile at the young Knight, who was still fiercely attacking her Holy Power Shield, and waved her hand to stop the battle.
“Enough, enough…”
Lance was startled and leaped back several steps, his face full of confusion. He could not quite understand what this old Cardinal was suddenly up to.
He had been so close to breaking through her shield!
“I am old, so old… I cannot keep up with you youngsters. Let us count this as your victory for today.”
“Huh?”
Lance was dumbfounded. He had never expected a veteran Saint Rank to admit defeat voluntarily. ‘It couldn’t be a trick, could it?’
However, the Cardinal had no intention of explaining anything. She threw a Golden Card toward Lance and vanished from where she stood.
“I will not go back on my word. You may choose one item for yourself from among the Rank 3 Sealed Artifacts in the underground vault. Once you have made your choice, come to the Main Hall. I will preside over the Covenant Ceremony for the two of you.”
Lance hurriedly reached out and caught the card.
When he turned back toward the Princess, he discovered that Astrid had already vanished along with Cardinal Mapele.
“Uh —”
‘I won just like that?’
While Lance was still dazed by his inexplicable victory, a sudden, thunderous roar echoed from all directions of the hall.
Click —
As if some mechanism had locked into place, the very hall Lance was in began to slowly descend.
It felt like an earthquake, instantly jolting Lance out of his daze.
He quickly drove his longsword into the stone floor to steady himself and waited tensely for the descent to stop.
A long time passed, and he had no idea how far they had descended. The descending hall finally came to a steady halt.
Deep red light began to flow through the patterns on the previously tightly shut eastern door.
There was a square indentation on the door that looked somewhat similar to the Golden Card Lance had caught.
After a moment of thought, Lance walked forward and pressed the Golden Card against it.
As expected, the moment Lance applied the Golden Card, the surging crimson light on the door suddenly shifted, transforming into the faint blue shimmer of Magic Runes.
The thunderous roar returned, and the heavy, shut door slowly began to swing open.