Arknights' Lock of Heaven

Maria's lips curled up slightly.

"I'm jealous that someone as inferior as you as me has such good armor."

"Really...heh..."

"The smell of gunpowder—! The smell of gunpowder about to explode—!" Big Mouth Mob shouted excitedly upon hearing this, "I knew it, installing a microphone was the right thing to do!"

"Now, I can't bear to keep you all in suspense any longer. I'm honored to announce! The competition begins!"

Ignoring his clamor, the face beneath the helmet of the left-hand knight Tester Poplar began to contort.

envy……

Ha ha……

These words deeply wounded his heart.

Because he was genuinely jealous...

Definitely.

After all, this is equipment that can completely outclass all current competitive knight armor. If I had this armor... then let alone the top 16, even the championship wouldn't be out of the question.

This is the same thought that almost all competitive riders had after watching the replay of Maria's match.

If I had such armor...

How could this not arouse jealousy?

Even the renowned Left-Handed Knight couldn't escape this common practice.

After all, none of us are saints; we all have worldly desires.

The left-handed knight knew very well what such armor meant.

Although he kept saying that the Rusty Bronze Knight was just a piece of trash, it didn't mean that the attacks of a piece of trash could really be ignored.

Even the left-handed knight dared not stand still and let the heavy steel axe strike him.

He has countless ways to defeat Rust Copper, but not by standing still and hacking at it head-on.

The little girl in front of them, with just this set of armor, managed to exhaust Rust Copper to the point that he collapsed from exhaustion...

What superior performance!

If there were another equally matched knight on the court right now, the left-handed knight would probably openly express his jealousy.

But what lies before me is a ray of light.

He's still an immature Nearl.

Let's take a look at the odds on the field.

As one of the sixteen knights, Maria's odds of rising to the top due to her armor have become extremely distorted.

Aside from a few die-hard fans and hardcore gamblers, nobody thought Maria could win.

This includes Zofia as well.

While a good set of armor is important, the knight's own abilities are the most crucial factor.

In the past, Maria had only encountered opponents who were stronger than her, but not strong enough to completely overwhelm her.

Therefore, he can move about without fear with this armor.

But armor is just armor after all, and what's more, it's not even full-body armor, just a set of light armor.

It's already quite good that it helped her defeat her previous opponents.

Now, even with enhanced armor, he is struggling against the left-handed knight.

It's not that the armor couldn't stop his attacks, but rather that Maria's own abilities couldn't keep up with his.

If it were Zofia, who was also in the top 16, wearing this armor would have been enough to utterly crush the Left-Handed Knight.

But Maria is not an option.

Their hard power is undeniable.

"That's it?" The left-handed knight delivered a powerful sweeping attack, forcing Maria back.

"Is this all you have?"

He thrust his spear again, and although it was barely blocked by Maria's shield, the knight with his left hand flicked his wrist, and the spear slashed past the shield with a very tricky motion, heading straight for Maria's right hand, which was holding a sword.

The latter was so frightened that he quickly raised his sword, but narrowly escaped being hit only by the hilt, not the wrist holding the sword.

"What a waste of such good armor!"

The words of the Left-Handed Knight resonated deeply with countless knights.

Without a doubt, countless competitive knights in the Great Knight Territory were filled with envy, jealousy, and hatred towards Maria.

Such good armor, how could it be...?

Tsk.

The left-handed knight was genuinely jealous.

Even after watching the video countless times, you can only truly appreciate the extraordinary nature of this armor by experiencing it firsthand.

Without this armor, my attack just now would have been enough to knock her shield away, or to knock her one-handed sword away after changing my move.

But as if the armor had its own soul, Maria blocked her own attack with a rather awkward posture, and raised her sword with a slightly unnatural air, causing her spear, which was aimed at her wrist, to miss its mark.

As one of the top sixteen knights, Left Hand's vision is extraordinary.

He could naturally see that Maria was not able to utilize the full potential of the armor.

However, Maria, who was unable to unleash her full potential, was able to barely exchange a couple of blows with him thanks to the buff.

If it were me...

He became even more jealous.

Their attacks became faster and heavier.

"Struggling to make ends meet!"

On the commentary stand, Mob exclaimed, "As expected of the top 16 knights, she is the first opponent in this qualifier to completely suppress Maria Nearl."

"Before this, neither plastic nor rusted copper could directly break Maria's defenses."

"But before our left-handed knight, the once impregnable defense began to crumble."

"What are you waiting for? Why be stingy with thirty or fifty gold coins when you have such a great opportunity?"

Do I need to say who has the advantage on the field?

"This is a great opportunity to make a fortune, my friends!"

Without him saying much, everyone who had watched Maria's previous matches started betting on her left hand.

At that moment, the left-handed knight also demonstrated the strength expected of a high-ranking knight.

clang!

Using the opponent's force against them, Maria's shield was swung aside.

Maria, who had lost her balance, was unable to even swing her sword to defend herself.

This is the difference between skill and combat experience.

But the left-handed knight did not pursue; he simply waited for Maria to recover.

Maria recovered from her loss of balance in just one second.

Seeing this, his jealousy was almost overflowing.

With his discerning eye, he could naturally see that Maria couldn't recover so quickly; it was due to the armor.

so good……

and also……

"What a waste!"

He launched another attack, and Maria, caught off guard, was once again overwhelmed. In just a few rounds, her defenses were breached again.

"Armor is just armor!"

The left-handed knight did not press his advantage, but instead said calmly, "You are not worthy of this armor."

"This is a huge difference in strength—!"

"Once again! The left-handed knight with ease! Wait for Maria to regroup, then deliver another devastating blow!"

"This is the strength of the elite Knights of Kazimierz! This is the strength of the Knights of the Major! Maria Nearl's luck has run out after she made it this far with just a suit of armor!"

"For those of you visiting Kazimierz for the first time, don't close your eyes for a second!"

"Because the cruel outcome of victory or defeat can be decided in an instant!"

"It all depends on the left-handed knight's mood!"

After his defenses were breached once again, the Left-Handed Knight looked at Maria, who was drenched in sweat, and said calmly, "Get up!"

"continue!"