Arknights, but the sickly pretty girl starts

However, her thoughts were not reflected on her face. She had invited McGee, Candle Knight and others to watch the game that day, and had reserved seats early, waiting for the melee round to begin. Two speakers sat directly on the stage. Although it might not be of much use to those who wanted to attack Maria, at least they should not be too blatant. Not only that, Noah also brought Xinteleya with her this time.

Ever since Xinteleya came to Noah's company, her face has almost been full of bad intentions, let alone murderous intent. Xinteleya now feels a little fatter - the food in the cafeteria is too good, and the receptionist really has no work pressure. Her cold face is not suitable for being a receptionist, but Noah's company basically has no reception needs. In essence, the receptionist is a sinecure, and Xinteleya is stealing wages without any psychological pressure.

And she visits cat cafes so frequently - if she's not at the front desk, she's definitely in the cat cafe.

Others get paid to take a shit, but she gets paid to play with cats, so she has figured out what it means to slack off.

But Noya didn't care. Instead, she thought it was perhaps a way for the Helmetless Alliance to show her they weren't a threat. After all, sending an assassin to steal wages wasn't something a legitimate organization would do, was it? Could it be that Sintela herself was simply too happy to leave?

Anyway, bringing Xintelaia with me is essentially announcing to the Helmetless Alliance that I have no intention of becoming an enemy of them. Look, I have brought the assassins you sent with me, how could I possibly fight against you?

Then there was Uncle Maenna, but he was just there as a personal assistant. But there was one person missing from this whole thing...

Cintrea was the first to notice that Kuro, who had always been following Noya, was gone. Although she didn't ask about it right away, her eyes were already searching everywhere for Kuro's traces. However, she searched everywhere but couldn't find Kuro nearby. If Kuro had left Noya, she would be the first to doubt it. Kuro had never left Noya since she infiltrated the company. How could he leave Noya when traveling?

What Xinteleya thought was actually not wrong, but Noah had more than just Kuro by his side now. To be honest... when a blond middle-aged office worker sat next to Noah, she felt very safe.

Does anyone really think that Mainna Linguang is bad?

Noah honestly felt that if someone underestimated Mainna Linguang's strength and wanted to attack him while he was with her, then that person's intelligence was probably a bit questionable. As for Kuro... of course, he was going to do something else.

Noah smiled and said to Xinteleya beside him, "Are you happy to bring you out to watch the game?"

"Happy, of course I'm happy." Cintrea nodded. "I've never watched a game from this perspective before."

I've usually been in the shadows or working as a security guard, never watching a game from the VIP seats. This angle is truly unobstructed, no wonder VIP seats are so ridiculously expensive.

While mentally complaining, Sintela subconsciously scanned the audience. Sure enough, several Helmetless Alliance assassins were lurking among the audience. While they were well-hidden, they were still quite obvious to Sintela, an expert in the field. However, their numbers weren't very large. In Sintela's experience, either there were a few troublemakers involved in the melee, or they were simply defending themselves. In any case, there were only two reasons for the Helmetless Alliance's presence.

Maria's fame has indeed been quite high recently, and she's probably already attracted the attention of the Wuzhou Alliance. However, Maria Linguang is a member of the Linguang family, so it's impossible for her to do anything shady. This person's uncle is sitting on the stage, so at least the Wuzhou Alliance shouldn't be that stupid.

While she was still speculating on the reason for the Helmetless Alliance's presence, the knights began to enter. Although Noya couldn't see, she could already tell from the audience's reactions that Maria had arrived. She smiled and waved, acknowledging her presence. Maria, naturally, noticed Noya in the VIP seats, and her lips curled up subconsciously. Sure enough, her sister, Noya, was still worried about her and had come over to watch the match.

"Is this the Knight of Flawed Light?" McGee nodded. "She certainly has the demeanor of her sister, Knight Glory. It seems Miss Noah is optimistic about this knight this time."

"In fact, I invited her to join the Sanhua Knights, which I sponsor, but unfortunately she declined." Noah said with a smile, not revealing her relationship with Maria. Although someone with ulterior motives would surely find out, she had to maintain a sufficient distance on the surface. "So, as a serving knight, what do you think, Viviana?"

"He's full of energy and must be a knight with great potential. The future is promising." Viviana nodded. To be honest, she felt that there were too many people in the VIP seats this time. If possible, she still wanted to watch the game alone with Noah. With so many people around, Noah's tone even became so polite when he asked her questions. She felt a little dissatisfied in her heart. If it were just the two of them, there would definitely not be such an atmosphere.

"Indeed, if I were sponsoring the Knights, I would definitely be tempted." McGee was elated, even thankful that Noya had invited the Candle Knight along. After all, being able to speak with the Candle Knight so closely was a win. It was truly a blessing to have accepted the invitation. McGee was incredibly grateful to Noya for inviting her; after all, such an opportunity was something you couldn't come by easily. "With outstanding looks, exceptional skills, and immense potential, she's a top choice, both financially and physically."

"...Uh..." Noah and Viviana fell silent at the same time. How should they respond? Although it was a public place, they were not there to snatch anyone away. They just wanted to start a conversation. However, McGee's words directly led the topic into a ditch.

In the end, it was Noah who smoothed things over. "Okay, it's almost time to start. Let's watch the game."

Chapter 52: The melee begins

Maria emerged with a look of obvious nervousness on her face. She knew the dangers of this melee. Many knights would hide their abilities in individual combat to avoid being targeted in the melee, but she was simply too aggressive. Especially when she unleashed her lightsaber at full power. No one knew she was simply unable to control her Originium technique, not just demonstrating it.

So when she appeared on the stage, Maria felt that no less than ten eyes were focused on her. Whether it was the sister of the Knight of Glory or her performance that time, she became a complete conspicuous person.

But regrets were pointless now. All Maria wanted now was to avoid bringing shame to the Linguang family. She held sword and shield, the sword to fight the enemy, the shield to protect those behind her. Her immaturity meant she was distracted by one thing while neglecting the other. She preferred protecting the things and people she cared about more than the sword. If she couldn't even survive this level of chaos, how could she possibly stand up to her sister, Noya, and protect her?

Her face suddenly became resolute, and her original nervousness was swept away. For the first time - she didn't know whether she should say this, but it was indeed the first time she felt so motivated.

The Linguang family, once they determined what they wanted to protect, could summon boundless courage. This courage wasn't for bravado or glory; to Maria, those things weren't even as interesting as the outrageous inventions she tinkered with in the workshop. But once it involved the Linguang family, her sister, her aunt, her uncle, and... her sister Noya.

That was different. She knew that Noah was worried about her in the stands. Because of her recklessness, because of her mistakes, her original plan was definitely not like this. But for her own sake, she would easily give up her position and appear in the stands as a spokesperson, even bringing Candle Knight and another spokesperson with her, obviously to protect Maria. Maria understood and knew it all.

I always remember all the kindness that Sister Noah has shown me.

So when my sister is not around, I can protect her...

And I!

A soft glow emanated from her body. It wasn't blinding, even gentle, yet it blazed like a blazing flame. Her eyes were a pure golden glow, forcing those who had been looking down on her to reconsider their actions. This was especially true for the older men, who suddenly straightened their previously casual postures. In this girl, they unexpectedly saw the grace of an old Pegasus.

A golden glow, not fierce but blazing like a flame, enveloped Maria, making her hair, skin, and eyes seem to burn with golden flames. The moment the match began, Maria struck her shield with her training sword, making a clanging sound.

"bring it on!"

It was clearly a still childish cry, but the knights who were participating in the melee at this time did not immediately attack. No one wanted to be the first to stand out. In the end, a knight with long red hair like flames stepped out of the crowd to face Maria. She had an expectant smile on her face and held a slender rapier in her hand. She seemed to be eager to face the fighting-minded Golden Pegasus. The rule of this game was a survival battle. As long as they were not eliminated and stayed on the stage until the end, they could advance and get a lot of points.

So most people don't want to be the first to stand out -

In fact, she thought so too, but when she saw Maria glowing all over, she couldn't suppress the throbbing in her heart.

"Flametail Knight! Sona! I want to see the swordsmanship of the Rinkou clan!"

After announcing her name, Sona, with her flaming hair, stepped out against the crowd, sword in hand, and solemnly challenged, just like in a classic knight duel.

"Knight of the Flawed Light! Maria Linguang, I accept your challenge!"

Maria saw how polite the other party was, so naturally she couldn't be disrespectful. Even though the Linguang family had fallen on hard times, they still maintained proper etiquette. It was supposed to be a free-for-all, but now it felt like a ring fight, with the Flametail Knight as the challenger and the Flawed Light Knight as the challenged. Although some of the audience were dissatisfied with the lack of chaos, they still held their breath at this classic knightly duel, eager to see how the battle would unfold.

"Flametail Knight, I think she's the leader of the Infected Knights... the Red Pine Knights, right?" Noah listened to the entire conversation. As the first person to formally challenge Maria, I became more interested in this girl who called herself the Flametail Knight. "I hadn't paid much attention to her before, but in this situation, she didn't take advantage of the situation, which would have been detrimental to Maria. Instead, she formally issued a challenge, preventing others from attacking her. I don't know if it was intentional, but she did help Maria."

"I've been keeping an eye on this knight. Her swordsmanship is swift, adept at dodging attacks and then using her swift sword to decide the outcome. She's a typical swift swordsman," Viviana, who also wields a swift sword, explained. "However, she's also defenseless against large-scale attacks, and lacks a winning strategy against some knights known for their defensive prowess."

"So, Flametail Knight is actually at a disadvantage against Maria?" Noa became even more interested. "Challenging an opponent who's at a disadvantage in such public... should I call it courage, or a complete lack of regard for one's reputation?"

"Although Maria has talent and a good foundation in swordsmanship, she hasn't practiced for too long and hasn't mastered it yet. If the opponent's skills are good enough, it's not impossible for him to defeat Maria." Mainna spoke up at this time. Compared to Viviana who was optimistic about Maria, Mainna felt that Maria had not yet mastered the sword.

"At times like this, I still want to believe in Maria," Noah said with a smile. "She's been working so hard, and I want to respond to that effort. At least give her some encouragement."

"It's because of your indulgence..." Mainna sighed. Indeed, if Noah hadn't always supported Maria unconditionally in her pursuits, she wouldn't have neglected her swordsmanship for so long, even losing control of her family's inherited lightsaber technique. Remember, Margaret learned this skill at a young age. But there was no blame in his tone. In reality, it wasn't just Noah who indulged Maria; Mainna himself had, too.

He was probably the one who least wanted Maria to embark on the path of knighthood...

But maybe... he was wrong.

Chapter 53: Chaotic Battle

Sona's speed was so frightening that Maria almost couldn't react. She only felt that she was transformed into a red shadow. She subconsciously raised her shield and felt a huge impact on the shield. She did not retreat or waver, but lifted the shield outward in a very standard way, forcing Sona, who was close to her, to move away from this range.

If she was hit by the shield, she probably wouldn't have retreated on her own, but would have been knocked away.

Sona was small and very agile, which gave her a great advantage in close combat. She had originally intended to rely on her speed to close in on Maria and then overwhelm her. Unexpectedly, Maria didn't fall for it and immediately made Sona retreat.

Sona has not received any orthodox knight training. All her combat skills are honed in battle. They are simple and efficient, without any frills. She chose the swift sword simply to match her speed. Her swift sword does not look elegant, but straightforward, relying on her speed.

As the saying goes, one trick is enough to conquer everything. Sona relied on her unstoppable speed to make it to the current melee.

If she could win the melee, she could continue to advance, even turning the Red Pine Knights into a Grand Order, though that wasn't her original intention. She was an Infected, an Infected Knight. This was indeed a way out for the Infected, but it was a bloody and cruel way. Infected Knights faced even more brutal treatment than normal knights. Sona had once been thrown directly into a cage filled with brutal beasts and deadly traps, a man-made jungle, and an enclosed building. From that moment on... Sona knew that the so-called Infected Knights were different from those glamorous and beautiful competitive knights.

They are wild beasts that are fed, just like the bloody sport of fighting feathered beasts, animals that are raised for viewing.

All they can hold in their hands is their own lives.

But Sona survived, and she didn't know how she survived...

Fight, fight... fight... fight until numb.

What really made Flametail what it is today was a formal knight competition... Infected versus Infected, it seemed no different from before, and in fact Sona didn't feel the difference at the time.

But that battle completely changed her...

It allowed her to challenge Maria with such pride...

Let her have the courage to stand up and challenge the reputation of the Linguang family!

Although the knight competition is a carefully packaged bloody game, it is neither about chivalry nor competition, but is simply packaged as a playful game of capital.

Yet, within this knightly tournament, there were still respectable knights! Sona had never considered herself a knight, she didn't subscribe to the ideals of chivalry—but when she saw Maria, she felt just that. Before her stood a true knight, a knight worthy of respect, one who defied the tide of the times.

"Why didn't you join the Grand Knights?" Maria heard Sona's words during the clash. Clearly, she was confused and wanted to get an answer from Maria. "You'd be safer this way. You could have survived the melee under the Knights' protection."

"I didn't think that much." Maria also lowered her voice and used her shield to deflect Sona's attack again. Chatting during a fierce confrontation seemed a very strange thing, but Maria didn't think the other party was joking or distracting her. She really wanted to get an answer from her.

"I just don't want to be protected by others all the time!" Maria said seriously, "Before, it was my sister, then my aunt, and now my uncle... and..."

Maria paused. "I don't want to be guarded all the time. I'm not a fragile porcelain doll. I want to protect the people I want to protect. If I can't even get through a situation like this, I can't tell her I will protect you! To protect the people I want to protect! I must maintain my identity as an independent knight! I know this is reckless and stupid! But I just want to prove that I'm not that fragile... that I don't need to be protected like this."

"...I see." Sona was a little surprised. This answer was not what she wanted to know, but it was not bad either. Sona agreed with Maria's idea. Not wanting to always be the one being protected, wanting to protect others, wanting to guard others' hearts, should not be belittled. Maybe it's not noble, but it's definitely not despicable! It's better to say that Sona also has similar ideas to Maria. She wants to protect... everyone in the Red Pine Knights and the infected people funded by the Red Pine Knights. "As expected - Lin Guang."

"Got it!" Maria's Originium skills shone brightly. Before Sona could react, she felt dizzy, as if she had entered hot water. The warm feeling did not feel like an attack, but rather like some kind of power that soothed her heart. However, it was only for a moment, and her movements slowed down. Maria seized the opportunity and used her shield to knock the slowed-down Sona away. She did not use much strength, but this time - the outcome was decided.

Sona landed lightly on the ground, touching the spot where she had just been hit by the shield, and subconsciously looked at Maria. That time she could have been completely incapacitated, but the other party showed mercy.

"This is a melee—" But Sona quickly understood why Maria was doing this. Their duel was over, and the siege was about to begin. Sona wouldn't be at a disadvantage in the siege, so Maria wasn't in a hurry to eliminate her. As expected, the moment Sona flew out, the group finally lost their patience. In an instant, arrows were launched at Maria.

Using her shield to deflect the arrows, Maria's brilliance showed no sign of dimming. She faced the [Knights] charging towards her with a stern expression.

Not only Maria, but Sona, who had just landed, was also besieged by several knights. This did not surprise Sona. The infected knights were already the target of everyone in the melee, and it was rare for them to endure their defeat.

Sona's agility was fully utilized as she dodged and dodged the opponent's sword. She lost to Maria, but that doesn't mean she is a pushover!

I was considered to be restrained against Maria, and my sword could hardly break through Maria's defense, but it was different for these knights, "Score!"

Sona's sword hit the armor, avoiding the opponent's attack, and then with two consecutive stabs, she blew off the helmet of the knight who attacked her. She was already familiar with this kind of melee!

She was more worried about the situation on Maria's side. After all, there were only three or four people on her side, while Maria's side had turned into a completely unequal group fight.

Chapter 54: The End of the Melee

Maria did have some difficulty in fighting, but fortunately her Originium skills came into play. Most of the knights who could hit her caused very limited damage to her, and she could recover in just a few breaths. This group of people did not have any coordinated attack, and it was common for them to influence and hinder each other, which gave Maria a few more chances to breathe in this chaotic battle.

But after all, it is one person against many people, and Maria has already started to fight and retreat. If she continues like this, she will soon be forced to the edge of the ring. Once she falls off the ring, she will be eliminated.

So... a lightsaber?

Maria still couldn't control the lightsaber properly. If she used the lightsaber, she couldn't guarantee that she could continue to maintain her current situation. It would either get worse, or...

Maria's breathing began to become disordered, and her reaction to attacks became a little slow. She was indeed good at long-term tug-of-war, but when she was besieged, she couldn't take care of everything. If this continued, Maria would definitely lose.

Being besieged...is harder than I imagined.

At times like this... first think about what my uncle said...

Besieged... What should I do when I'm besieged...

Steps... Use steps, yes, use steps and position control to prevent the enemies you face from coming from all directions and making you exhausted. The more Maria fights, the clearer her mind becomes. Maria, immersed in the battle, always keeps thinking. She cannot be a piece of iron that gets beaten. She must observe carefully and observe the opponent's flaws. The opponent has not been trained and has many flaws. Pay attention to observation.

Maria's movements suddenly changed. From being straightforward at the beginning, they became cunning, and the knights besieging her felt inexplicably uncomfortable... as if they were stuck in a quagmire. When they wanted to attack the Flawed Light Knight, they were always hindered by the positions of others, and might even be bumped into or accidentally hurt their [partners] who were besieging them. Some people simply went along with the situation and eliminated some of them first.

They're not real teammates anyway, they're opponents too, so if they get hurt accidentally, so be it! Who cares!

As a result, the siege began to become scattered and even began to split, and finally turned into a real melee. However, Maria maintained a very good state in this, and became calm in the face of the enemy's attacks. She blocked with her shield, slashed, retreated, and charged. The siege was broken up and finally turned into an unregulated chaos. This group of people were furious and no longer cared about their previous plan to join forces to deal with Maria.

"...That's amazing." After Sona dealt with the opponents at hand, she found that Maria had successfully resolved the siege through positioning and guidance.

"How's the battle going?" Noah couldn't see, and the battlefield was too chaotic to hear anything, so he could only ask Viviana beside him.

"It's hard to say, but the Flawed Light Knight seems to have turned the corner. If she continues like this, she should be able to stand to the end." Viviana was not too sure. The current battle situation was too chaotic. It seemed as if the group of people who originally besieged Maria suddenly had an internal conflict. The only ones who could see it more clearly were probably the group of veterans who had actually seen the battlefield, and Mainna, who was once a mercenary. Although it was she who taught Maria how to deal with sieges...but this girl was able to use it so well the first time.

This was beyond Maena's expectations...

He had to examine Maria's talent once again. Compared to Margaret's straightforward strength, Maria seemed to have a unique talent in observing the battle situation.

Even though he had suggested it, he originally thought that it would be difficult to apply it based on Maria's experience... As for the current chaotic situation, Maria's observation played the biggest role.

Maria herself felt very strange, as if she had entered a stage where she was completely insensitive to pain. However, it was not as if she had lost herself in the fight. She was frighteningly calm throughout the whole process. The more tense the situation was, the calmer she seemed to be. The attacks that had originally made her flustered now became full of loopholes and could be easily broken. During the battle, Maria had already knocked down five knights.

She didn't even feel tired...

She didn't know if this was a normal situation, but the knights participating in the siege had already sensed something was wrong. Maria was obviously a conspicuous self-luminous figure, but now she was like a ghost in the battlefield, suddenly appearing from time to time to eliminate a knight, and then blending into the battle again. She seemed to have integrated into the battlefield, and she was getting stronger and stronger.

"It seems... maybe I underestimated Maria." Noah also felt that her backup plan might be useless, but just as this thought came to her mind, the next moment, she felt a sense of malice... A sense of malice that made her tremble suddenly appeared in the battle. In a place that Maria didn't even notice, an unknown knight who had always been outside the battlefield appeared beside Maria like a ghost, and then took out a dagger from his waist. The dagger looked quite old, with a rough appearance, and looked... completely harmless.

"...Finally couldn't help it?"

"?"

The black knight's wrist was held down, and when he turned his head, a masked man grabbed his arm tightly, and it felt like his hand bones would be crushed in the next second.

"...a dagger covered in Originium dust..."

Her cold words made the man in black feel a chill on his back. This was his last thought, because the next second, Kuro, who was holding his arm, exerted force with his palm and directly crushed her ulna and radius. The severe pain made him want to cry out for a moment, but before he could cry out, Kuro kicked him out of the ring and slammed him into the wall at an extremely fast speed. Although it did not take his life, this kick was enough to make him unable to stand up for the rest of his life.

"It's not the Helmetless Alliance..." Kuro shook his head in confusion, but the incident happened suddenly, and Noah had already spent a lot of effort just to find a way to squeeze her into the melee, so it was naturally impossible for her to have time to torture the assassin.

So Noah's order was only to stop this guy from taking actions that were detrimental to Maria. As for how to stop him, that was up to Kuro to decide.

But this method... is very similar to the method used to turn Noah into a mineral patient.

Kuro looked solemn, but since this guy had been dealt with, it was almost time for him to quietly exit the scene.

Noya felt relieved when she sensed the malice had dissipated. Kuro should have taken action... but luckily, she had added a final layer of insurance.

Maria had no idea what was happening, nor did she know that she almost followed in Noah's footsteps. Until the end of the melee, she maintained her Originium skills and knocked down the last knight who besieged her without using a lightsaber.

There is no doubt about it - Maria has advanced.