Chapter 21: Armor Fort

"Since Her Highness the Princess is already here, why hasn’t that embroidered pillow arrived yet? Could it be that we’ve been played?" After greeting the princess, two knights sat at a distance, one of them whispered.

"Don’t worry, he wouldn’t dare fall into our trap. The princess already knows about this. If Winnie backs out, it will be him who looks foolish," the other knight laughed.

A long time passed.

"Heh, as expected. Did I have too many expectations of him?" Seeing that so much time had passed with no movement at the entrance, the knight sneered sarcastically. "I thought at least he’d have the courage to take a beating, but it seems he'd rather be a coward and back out?"

"Typical of a good-for-nothing who talks big but can’t back it up. He’s probably scared to take a beating. If he comes, he’ll be humiliated in front of the princess, so it’s probably better for him to skip out on this."

At that moment, heavy footsteps echoed through the quiet arena, accompanied by the sound of armor clinking, growing louder as they approached.

"Someone’s coming from the entrance."

"Seriously? Is it that bastard?" The two knights looked at the entrance in disbelief.

On the other side, Mirecia and Aeciphysis did the same.

Mirecia frowned slightly, while Aeciphysis straightened her posture.

This duel had happened in the previous life as well, but the timing didn’t match.

However, it was likely to end the same way. The scoundrel probably didn’t know why he had learned the evil Soul Art ahead of time.

Aeciphysis squinted her pretty eyes, a barely noticeable killing intent flickering within them.

And when that figure emerged from the entrance and appeared in full view, her expression instantly turned to one of surprise.

Not just hers—everyone looked equally incredulous.

"Sorry I’m late, I picked up a few things on the way," the figure, clad in armor with steel plates and a closed helmet, carrying a long spear about two meters in length with a flag on it, waved to the two sitting on the stands.

"....Who are you?" After a moment of silence, one of the knights couldn’t help but ask.

"It’s only been a few days, don’t you recognize me?" The armored figure tilted his head, then released his Soul Art.

"Winnie?!" Seeing the moon-blue-haired youth with hair reaching his shoulders, the two knights were stunned beyond belief.

Honestly, Winnie wasn’t bad-looking, but his freckles and poor skin quality heavily detracted from his appearance.

"Oh, you still remember me?" Winnie smiled as his gaze shifted to Mirecia and Aeciphysis.

Whoa, what day is it today? The main cast has arrived, both of them.

Including Aeciphysis, the big disaster herself.

Tsk...

Seeing Aeciphysis, Winnie felt a slight sense of wariness and nervousness rising in him, but upon seeing Mirecia sitting next to her, he let out a sigh of relief.

Aeciphysis probably wouldn’t act openly against him in front of Mirecia without a reason.

Looking at the two on the stands, Winnie figured out what was going on.

Heh, probably that bastard Karong secretly tipped them off, hoping to make him look bad in front of Mirecia, and since Aeciphysis was also here, they’d come together.

Heh, calling him a petty man wasn’t wrong.

But this was actually perfect; after all, Winnie didn’t mind looking bad.

Let’s see, let’s compete and see who cares less about looking bad.

Winnie bent slightly and respectfully performed a courtier's bow to Mirecia, not asking why she was here.

Mirecia was somewhat surprised.

This gesture, though polite, carried more of a sense of distance. The old Winnie would never have done something like this.

"Hey, you all better remember this. If I win, forty gold coins, not a single one less, okay?" Winnie intentionally said this loudly, making sure Mirecia and Aeciphysis heard, preventing them from playing dumb afterward.

"Of course, we won’t cheat you," one of the knights replied, looking at his companion with a strange expression.

"I say, wasn’t that Soul Art just now an armor-type?"

"I’m not sure. I haven’t seen many armor-type Soul Arts. What’s it called? ...It feels kind of familiar though."

"Who cares, no matter how weird it is, it’s still a one-star Soul Art," the knight confidently looked at his chosen apprentice.

"This apprentice’s Soul Art is a two-star 'Bow Arm' and has even received knight training. Winnie, this useless young master who hasn’t learned anything, is just a beginner in Soul Arts. Even if the Goddess Fanghui blesses him today, there’s no way he’s going to win."

As he spoke, the knight waved his hand toward his apprentice, signaling him to calm down.

It was understandable to be nervous, after all, the princess was watching this duel.

That’s Mirecia, the princess! With his status, it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see her real face!

But soon, the apprentice settled his nerves and focused on Winnie.

In contrast to the two knights, Mirecia immediately recognized the Soul Art Winnie was using, and her thoughtful expression deepened.

As for Aeciphysis, her outward expression remained calm, but inside, a storm was brewing.

What’s going on??

The Soul Art Winnie absorbed—why wasn’t it the evil Soul Art from the previous life??

Aeciphysis certainly recognized this Soul Art—or rather, it would be strange if she didn’t.

She knew this Soul Art well. If she wasn’t mistaken, it was an armor-type Soul Art called 'Armor Fort,' which had once been the main tactical Soul Art of the ancient Tyrellis Empire’s army. And the imperial family of the ancient Tyrellis Empire was the Kareliman family.

But this Soul Art had long been outdated, eliminated by the changes of time. It was now nearly impossible to see.

Because it had a fatal weakness.

"Ah! I remember now!" At this moment, one of the knights in the stands suddenly exclaimed, his expression enlightened as he recalled where he had seen this Soul Art before.

In the illustrated book.

"How? Is this Soul Art powerful?"

"No, quite the opposite," the knight smirked. "I really didn’t expect him to be this stupid."

"To not have any other Soul Art to choose from, but to pick this old, obsolete one? How ridiculous."

"Stop keeping us in suspense, what is this Soul Art?"

"If I’m not wrong, it’s called 'Armor Fort,' which was once the main Soul Art of knights in the ancient Empire. But that’s not the point—the point is, this Soul Art has been obsolete for centuries."

"Do you know why the armor-type Soul Arts have become unpopular?"

"Armor-type Soul Arts? I’m not too sure about that."

"Because the ancient armor-type Soul Arts mostly sacrificed agility to improve physical defense."

"This 'Armor Fort' Soul Art is an extreme version of that, sacrificing agility to the maximum to increase physical defense."

"Sounds powerful?"

"Powerful? It was effective in the ancient times because Soul Arts were generally low in magic. But as the times advanced and higher magic Soul Arts emerged, armor-type Soul Arts became ineffective against magic. Do you get it?"

"Oh, I see. So no matter how high its physical defense is, against magic, it’s just a heavy, slow coffin, right?"

"Exactly. With so many high-magic Soul Arts now, this thing is not only clumsy but fragile, like paper. One magic attack, and both the person and the armor would turn to dust."

"Back then, the elite 'Tyrellis Spear' imperial unit was fully equipped with 'Armor Fort.' In the end, they were all wiped out by a powerful mage who cast a large spell. No survivors."

"Since then, this once invincible 'Armor Fort' Soul Art has been completely relegated to the trash heap of history."

"All the countries hate it as garbage. It’s only kept for research purposes, or else it’s completely useless—not even a dog would bother with it." The angry dragon knight scoffed.

"Ha ha ha, I guess this is what happens when you don’t read much. That useless young master probably has no idea about this, right?"