"Don't push, everyone will get some."
In the slums of the Mobile City, Sona used part of her contract money to buy a lot of simple living supplies. ...Then, together with Justyna, she distributed them to the Infected and non-Infected in the slums. ...Food items like instant noodles and compressed biscuits, while not very nutritious, could fill their stomachs...
Besides that, there were many other cheap but practical daily necessities.
Most people in the slums were Infected, or ordinary people with physical disabilities. ...Without work, they couldn't earn money and couldn't support themselves. ...there were still many people like this living below the poverty line.
Once... Sona was one of them, and so was Justyna.
"Thank you, Miss Flametail Knight. You're truly an angel sent from heaven."
Many people were incredibly moved by Sona's kindness. ...Sona was too famous. Even in the remote slums, these Infected knew that a formidable knight had emerged from among the Infected. ...She had entered her first Knight Major and stormed into the semi-finals on a winning streak, and might even win the championship.
A career peak right at the debut. ...Not to mention this was an Infected knight who had never received any professional training.
In fact.
As Sona's fame grew, she seemed to have gradually become an object of worship for many Infected in the city's slums.
All this time.
Under constant suppression, many Infected felt they were a level below the non-Infected. ...But with Sona's appearance, many Infected held their heads high.
The Infected are no weaker than the non-Infected!!
Even many young ones decided they would also become knights when they grew up.
However.
Worship was one thing.
No matter how amazing the Flametail Knight was, she still couldn't bring anything tangible to the Infected community. ...It wasn't until Sona drove over with a truck full of supplies that many of the Infected expressed their sincere gratitude to her for the first time.
"You don't need to thank me. Actually, my teacher asked me to do this. My teacher is constantly striving to change the living conditions of the Infected worldwide."
For the Infected, they didn't need empty fame. ...For example, Lucas Reeve's documentary, or Sora's songs. ...had never fundamentally changed the situation for these bottom-tier people. Only when material aid was actually placed in their hands was it real help.
Their demands were very, very low.
They were happy enough just to have food to eat and not starve or freeze to death.
When the entire truckload of supplies had been distributed... ...Although these supplies were simple, mostly instant noodles and compressed biscuits... ...this was enough to ensure that many of these Infected would no longer go hungry. ...As for meat? That was too extravagant.
As Sona and Justyna were about to leave.
Suddenly.
The Infected, who had been gathered in the open ground of the slums and had not dispersed, all called out to Sona.
"Miss Flametail Knight!! We will always support you!! Good luck in the semi-finals tomorrow!! You are the pride of all us Infected!!"
Everyone shouted in unison. Sona, who was about to leave, turned her head, smiled energetically, and gave a thumbs-up.
"I will, everyone!!"
Before leaving, Lucas Reeve's soul used its power to hide his form, then reached out and casually grabbed at the air.
A large mass of ownerless prayer power was pulled into Lucas Reeve's hand.
It wasn't a lot of prayer power, condensing into a ball only the size of a ping-pong ball.
After all, a single person could provide 5000 at most, and the more people there were, the more diluted it became. Lucas Reeve fused this prayer power into his soul.
+50,000.
Not bad. Lucas Reeve was now 450,000 away from 2 million prayer power. At this rate, he'd save it up soon.
The next day.
The semi-finals of this spring season's playoffs were about to begin. ...Any knight who entered the playoffs, even those eliminated in the first round, had already received many company invitations. ...This naturally included Justyna.
Moreover, because of Justyna's status as an Infected, plus her cute appearance... ...so, even though she was eliminated in the first playoff match, her popularity wasn't low. ...Those companies didn't train specialized competition knights, but rather idol-style knights who sang and danced. ...This type of idol knight was much safer and naturally became the first choice for many female knights.
However.
Justyna rejected all of these invitations. She had no interest in these knightly orders or agencies.
This year's spring season was very abnormal.
Because... the spring season that coincided with the Knight Major Championship every three years was usually full of rookies... and generally had the lowest viewership. ...However, this year's spring season was completely bucking the trend.
This semi-final match directly set the all-time viewership record for a spring season.
Mainly because a certain knight had appeared in this spring season.
The Flametail Knight.
Now, the Flametail Knight had become the guarantor of the spring season's ratings. ...Basically, whenever she played, the number of viewers would skyrocket. ...And when her match ended, the viewership would plummet. ...These were basically people who came just to see the Flametail Knight.
Some wanted to see the Flametail Knight create a miracle... ...while others wanted to watch her fail. ...so they could post hindsight-filled comments about "pride comes before a fall."
"Sona, since the Chamber of Commerce can't play dirty tricks now, they'll have to play it straight. They'll probably try to... *finish* you in the arena."
Lucas Reeve reminded her from within her body.
"They wouldn't, would they, Mr. Reeve?"
Sona was a little skeptical.
"The list of the final four has already been announced... Suddenly swapping people out mid-way, wouldn't that be too shameless? How could the audience not notice?"
Lucas Reeve shook his head. "You're still too naive, Sona."
He explained, "Have you ever thought that 99% of the audience's attention is only on you and the Whislash Knight, Zofia? ...As for the other two knights, I've looked into them. One is a new knight with only a year of experience, the other is an older, washed-up knight who's never achieved much. Their leaderboard rankings are low, they aren't handsome, and they don't have any special features. Their fighting style is mediocre. Pure nobodies, old and new. ...This spring season is probably the best result of their entire careers."
"In this competition, the champion is already practically decided. It's either you or the Whislash Knight. Those two are just background decoration, cannon fodder for you two to step on to get to the finals."
"So, even if those two are replaced, it won't make any difference to the audience. No one will care about the reason. ...They just want to watch the match."
"If I'm not mistaken, the Chamber of Commerce will swap the competitors. They'll find some random excuse to replace both your and Zofia's opponents. ...And, because you defeated that 'Final Four Knight' before, this time the Chamber of Commerce will probably send someone very strong, even stronger than him."
After hearing Lucas Reeve's analysis, Sona got a little anxious.
"Then what do we do, Mr. Reeve?"
"Simple. I'll still fight these next two matches for you. Your talent isn't bad, but you lack training time. ...After the spring season, there's still half a year until the Championship Major officially starts. ...In the remaining six months, I will increase the intensity of your training and help your strength take a qualitative leap. ...When the time comes, you'll have to rely on yourself for the Knight Major Championship."
Hearing that Lucas Reeve would continue to fight for her.
Sona felt extremely bad about it.
"Mr. Reeve, maybe you should let me do it... The worst that can happen is I lose. Getting into the top four in my first competition is already pretty good..."
"No..."
Lucas Reeve said, "I need you to win the championship."
"So, this time, Sona, I will help you win the championship. But the most critical Championship Major will depend on you. I won't help you again."
"Mn..."
Although she didn't want to keep troubling Lucas Reeve, she had no choice. She now resolved that in the remaining six months, she would definitely use all her strength to train exhaustively, so as not to disappoint Mr. Reeve's expectations.
Of course.
Lucas Reeve had his own calculations rattling away.
Lucas Reeve needed prayer power, and if she won the championship... her influence among the Infected community would be even greater. ...he could also take the opportunity to harvest a large amount of prayer power. Half a year was enough time to gather the power needed to condense a physical body.
Just as expected.
Right before the semi-finals began.
The announcer brought some rather awkward news.
"We apologize, spectators. In this semi-final... the other two knights were found to have violated knightly regulations in the past... so both knights have been disqualified from the Knight Major."
"????"
Several large question marks flashed over Sona's head.
It was exactly as Mr. Reeve had guessed. Most importantly, the surrounding audience didn't seem to care at all. Their interest was entirely on her and the Whislash Knight. As for what happened to the other two, nobody cared. They just wanted to see their two favorite competitors play.
"Therefore, for the sake of fairness, the vacant spots left by these two knights will be filled by substitutes specially dispatched by the Chamber of Commerce. You can all rest assured, to ensure fairness, the two competitors sent by the Chamber of Commerce have been carefully selected. ...In terms of leaderboard ranking and historical achievements, they are more or less identical to the original two."
What a load of crap.
Lucas Reeve complained silently in his heart.
Similar leaderboard rankings...
Does anyone these days really believe the leaderboard has anything to do with strength?
After learning of the last-minute swap, the audience felt nothing. They didn't care. They only cared about the Flametail Knight and the Whislash Knight.
"Next, let's invite this spring season's absolute dark horse!! The most talked-about competitor in spring season history!! The Flametail Knight!!!"
Following the announcer's loud roar.
Instantly, the atmosphere in the stands ignited. Many people excitedly shouted the Flametail Knight's name. ...And with the appearance of that familiar, small figure, many in the audience excitedly beat their chests like gorillas. ...In the slums, countless people were gathered around a single broken TV. When they saw the Flametail Knight appear, everyone in the slums, men and women, old and young, erupted, all shouting encouragement for the Flametail Knight.
"Let's welcome the Flametail Knight's opponent for this match!!!"
"Ranked 64th on the leaderboard... the Brute-Force Knight!!!"
After the announcer finished, a huge knight, wrapped in black armor, walked out of the tunnel.
When this 'behemoth', over two meters tall, walked out of the tunnel, an unusual sense of oppression instantly washed over everyone.
In the preparation room, Zofia, who was watching the live broadcast, frowned. She had never heard of this "Brute-Force Knight."