One Hobgoblin and one Goblin Mage corpse were missing from the scene.
Astraea searched carefully through the pile of goblin remains for a while, and that was the result of her tally.
However, she hadn’t bothered to count the ordinary goblins; it didn’t matter if a few had run off.
But the fact that the Goblin Mage who had made her so frustrated had escaped left her feeling regretful.
The plant vines spawned by Astraea’s magic formed a dense cluster of vegetation in the sewer, making it difficult even for the little elf to get through.
She drew her straight sword and hacked with all her strength to cut a path barely wide enough for her to pass through the thicket of vines.
Astraea then moved forward again, returning to the previous goblin nest, where she successfully retrieved Tang Deli Knight’s family crest from his remains.
She also swiped Tang Deli Knight’s straight sword along the way.
Unfortunately, though Tang Deli Knight’s sword was also a fine product of the Kingdom, its quality wasn’t as good as the straight sword Astraea was currently using.
Astraea, who had originally wanted to upgrade her weapon, had to give up that idea and continued looting the bodies.
But after rummaging for a long time, she didn’t find anything useful.
The little elf’s face darkened as she reluctantly accepted the fact that she was unlucky.
Then…
Astraea looked around by the light of the Lighting Spell.
There were no more living creatures left in this goblin nest.
Should she venture deeper into the sewer?
The black mist rising from the Goblin Mage hadn’t increased its combat ability in any way, but for some reason, Astraea felt uneasy about that black mist.
During the fight, she had also taken a moment to sense the black mist with her mana perception, but in that vision, the black mist appeared as a mere blot of darkness.
Probing it with mana yielded no special reaction.
Astraea felt that deeper into the sewer definitely held more secrets.
“No way, with these thin arms and legs of mine, even fighting a few Hobgoblins is exhausting. Going in there would just be delivering myself as a meal?”
As if she had figured something out, the little elf turned around and left, avoiding the tragic fate of becoming something the goblins couldn’t mess with.
Truly a cause for celebration.
Following the path she had taken, Astraea soon returned to the previous camp.
She threw Tang Deli Knight’s straight sword in front of the knight on duty.
The sword, still in its scabbard, hit the ground with a dull thud.
The soldiers, who had been bored on watch, immediately noticed Astraea the elf.
A elf covered in bloodstains—if she were on the street, it would probably cause a great panic.
“I brought back Tang Deli Knight’s sword. Regretfully, he did die in the goblin nest,” the little elf said to the guard knight, whose expression was complicated.
“Also, I’ve cleared out that goblin nest. I suggest you push a new outpost forward quickly, or else new goblins will reoccupy that nest.”
“…Thank you.”
Although the creature before him was an elf Heteromorph, she had indeed helped them.
The guard knight still thanked the little elf, then picked up Tang Deli Knight’s straight sword and examined it for a moment.
“This is indeed my fallen battle brother’s sword. Elf, I will report your contribution accordingly to the higher-ups.”
Having fully confirmed the little elf’s words, the guard knight gave her a knight’s salute and then hurried off to dispatch soldiers.
But these matters had little to do with Astraea.
She had already completed Maximus’s test, and now she had to quickly return to the Grand Arena.
However, she couldn’t go back covered in blood; she had to go home and change clothes first.
“I am Blake Mann. State your name, knight!”
“Luo En.”
The two knights charged at each other on horseback.
Luo En swung his longsword, deflecting the spear thrust by Knight Blake.
This was now the mounted combat phase.
Though he wasn’t very skilled at riding, Luo En still managed to match Knight Blake evenly thanks to his proficient swordsmanship.
How even?
Blake thrust five times in five seconds, and Luo En parried all five.
His lack of horsemanship ultimately held Luo En back.
If he could spend less effort controlling the horse, he would have been the one taking the initiative by now.
“Hyah!”
Luo En squeezed the horse’s belly with both legs, and the warhorse suddenly accelerated, narrowly dodging Blake’s sweeping strike.
This was now the worst situation.
Knight Blake had noticed Luo En’s weakness in horsemanship, so he used his own riding skills to keep distance from Luo En, then used his longer spear to force Luo En into a defensive posture, making it hard for him to attack.
The two were evenly matched, with little difference in combat power, which thrilled the spectators in the stands.
Whenever Luo En blocked or dodged a lethal attack from Knight Blake, the audience erupted in cheers, and vice versa.
The duel between Luo En and Knight Blake provided these bloodthirsty spectators with an unparalleled audio-visual feast.
They were so excited that they could hardly resist jumping into the arena to fight Luo En or Knight Blake themselves.
After Luo En dodged another thunderous, unstoppable whirlwind thrust, Knight Blake, clad in heavy armor and already panting, reined his horse back.
His muffled voice came from under his pointed helmet: “Not bad. You’re the toughest opponent I’ve ever faced.”
Luo En was also breathing slightly heavily, but his condition was a bit better than Knight Blake’s—at least the hand holding his longsword wasn’t trembling.
But the key point wasn’t the two of them; it was the warhorses they were riding.
The heavily armored knights and their equipment were a heavy burden for these standard warhorses.
In a short fight, it would have been fine, but now that time had passed, the horses’ legs were shaking.
Knight Blake had noticed this and was therefore pulling back.
Because he knew that, whether he liked it or not, this next exchange would be the final round.
“Knight Luo En, take this!”
Knight Blake squeezed his legs, and the warhorse, understanding the command, charged fiercely.
Blake held his spear with both hands, ready to decide the match with one move!
Luo En’s hand holding the longsword unconsciously tightened.
Through the slit of his closed helmet, he stared at the galloping Knight Blake.
His opponent’s stance allowed both thrusting and slashing, and Luo En didn’t know how to respond for a moment.
But since defending was difficult, he would abandon defense and attack!
Rather than cowering in defense, it was better to gamble on this chance of success!
Luo En also spurred his horse forward, his longsword trailing on the left side, ready to swing it with his right hand.
The distance between them shrank rapidly—closer, even closer!
Just as they were less than three meters apart, Luo En’s pupils contracted.
He saw Knight Blake’s hand make a slight upward motion.
This move, Knight Blake was preparing to slash!
Luo En suddenly bent forward, and at the same time, he swung his sword with his right hand.
“Clang!”
The longsword struck Knight Blake’s waist.
Since he hadn’t put much force into it, Knight Blake only fell from his horse, and a scratch was left on his armor.
In contrast, after bending and swinging, Luo En had nothing else to worry about.
He trotted his warhorse a few steps and stopped, then turned to see that Knight Blake had been knocked off.
Only then did he dismount.
“You win.”
Knight Blake got up, took off his helmet, and smiled at Luo En.
Looking at the other’s dark face, Luo En sheathed his longsword and clasped his fists: “I accept your concession.”
“Ooooh!!!”
For such an exciting battle, the stands erupted with the most enthusiastic cheers since the tournament began.
Little Jack and his sister hugged each other directly, venting their excitement.
Luo En turned to look at the box seats again.
This time, he saw his beloved standing by the observation window, smiling and giving him a thumbs-up.
Luo En also smiled and returned a thumbs-up to the little elf.
No one else on the field knew what that meant except him and the elf.
Time to exit.
Today’s event was over for now.
Luo En turned and walked toward the exit passage.
The Royal Capital Knight Tournament lasted a total of ten days, during which tens of thousands of knights were ranked through martial competitions.
From infantry combat to mounted combat, and even aerial combat for high-ranking knights, from personal valor to wargaming—a knight was supposed to be an all-rounder.
Thanks to the boost from Astraea’s bottle of Forest Holy Liquid, Luo En ultimately won the championship in both the mounted combat and infantry combat categories.
As for wargaming… it was just mediocre.
Luo En had indeed learned from his father, but he was only a squire after all.
How could he compete with the veteran knights who were participating?
Due to his reckless advance, his opponent split their forces to outflank him, and he ended up in 313th place.
To be fair, this result wasn’t bad; at least it was considered excellent in the Human Kingdom.
“You’re amazing, Luo En!”
Astraea threw her arms around Luo En, who had already changed into casual clothes, and happily climbed into his arms for two big sniffs.
Pure Luo En scent!
Luo En, in turn, reached out and patted the little elf’s head, then said modestly, “It’s okay, I also have to thank Teacher Astraea for her sword instruction.”
“You really, really did great!” Astraea had seen too many stories of complicated people; she knew that children needed praise the most, and besides, this child truly was excellent.
“Now you can call yourself a champion knight, and a double champion at that. That’s a remarkable achievement.”
As for the triple champion knight… the last one was called the All-Father.
“Mmm, Teacher Astraea’s instruction was also wonderful, and that bottle of medicine really helped me a lot.”
After being praised by the little elf, Luo En did feel a secret delight.
Of course, he didn’t forget to compliment her in return.
As it turned out, not only children need praise—even an elf as self-proclaimed mature as Astraea was very receptive to it.
Feeling the emotional fluctuations transmitted through the Guardian Knight Contract, a smile unconsciously spread across Luo En’s face.
‘Cute Astraea… hehe.’