Holy shit! He's hacking!!
If the directors present were younger, this sentence would probably best represent their current thoughts.
The audience's rapturous cheers from the screen were far too noisy for them.
As the spokesperson, Czarny was also extremely surprised.
He had imagined the Flametail Knight might defeat this monster... although the possibility was very low. ...because Czarny had personally witnessed this monster's destructive power. He was truly terrified the first time he saw it. ...He even had a hunch that even if the Radiant Knight returned, she might struggle to defeat this monster.
And yet..
And yet.....
Czarny looked at the monster collapsed in a pool of blood on the screen. He had only one feeling.
Like a toy!!
A monster of this level was as fragile as a toy in front of the Flametail Knight.
Seeing the directors' incredibly gloomy expressions, Czarny tactfully muted the screen's audio immediately. ...The audience's cheers, as if it were New Year's, were the greatest irony and mockery for the directors.
Each of them had an ashen face, holding in a huge breath of frustration, like having a thick wad of old phlegm stuck in their throat. Uncomfortable, extremely uncomfortable. ...One of the older ones was so angry he tremblingly fumbled in his pocket for a bottle of quick-acting heart pills.
The first silence, the meeting room was like a study hall. The second silence, it became a library. This time, it turned directly into a soundproof room.
The directors had never imagined in their lives.
That they, who had dominated Kazimierz for so many years... that a major event like the Knight Major was something they could control as they pleased. Even champion knights like the Black Knight or the Radiant Knight were easy for the Chamber of Commerce to deal with.
But this year.
The directors felt like they must not have checked the almanac at the start of the year.
How could a spring season that no one usually cared about make the Chamber of Commerce eat all the frustration it hadn't eaten in years? ...and experience all the silences it had never experienced?
Indeed.
There's a saying called the "Conservation of Frustration."
A person can't have smooth sailing their whole life... and if it's been smooth for too long, all the frustration from before gets concentrated and eaten at once later.
Director Barton, in the main seat, had his hands folded in front of him, and they were trembling nonstop. The veins on his forehead bulged like a cross. The anger rising in his heart turned his face purple. ...Opposite him, the Chairman of Shaw-Ranke Biotechnology looked like he had done something wrong. Despite his age, he couldn't help but shrink his neck.
"I need an explanation..."
Director Barton's voice, calm but laced with fury, rang out, like a volcano about to erupt.
"Er..."
The Shaw-Ranke Chairman stammered, "I... I... It shouldn't be like this."
He himself had no idea.
The Shaw-Ranke Chairman knew his own company's products best. ...In the usual underground matches, it was a bulldozer. No knight could withstand its attacks.
In normal matches, it was one hammer, one kill, carrying every game. How... how could it be like a toy when it really mattered? ...At least toys are durable. This thing shattered on contact.
"Shouldn't be?"
Director Barton frowned, his voice growing louder.
"Then you tell me, what *should* the result have been?"
"Did you think your so-called 'weapon' would easily tear this 'little squirrel' to shreds?!!"
"Then tear her!! Why didn't you?!!"
Director Barton was losing his composure.
His speaking speed got faster and faster, his blood pressure higher and higher.
"Dammit!!!"
In his anger, Director Barton grabbed the water glass in front of him and hurled it at the projector screen.
"The Chamber of Commerce gives your company so much money every year, and you give me this toy?!! Why don't you go up there yourself!! ...The whole match!! Ten seconds from start to finish!! The actual combat time wasn't even two seconds!!"
"The thing you spent years researching was shattered in two seconds by an Infected knight with no professional training?? What the hell are you good for?!!"
"Turn it off! Turn it off!!"
"Yes!"
Czarny immediately turned off the projector broadcasting the audience's cheers. The other directors remained silent.
Finally, after a long while, Director Barton managed to calm down a bit, recovering from his extreme, unprofessional anger.
Suddenly.
The newly appointed Chairman of Apperton Arsenal saw Director Barton had cooled off slightly and stood up to speak.
"Mr. Barton, I think perhaps it's not that Shaw-Ranke Biotechnology's test subject was too weak, but that the 'little squirrel' is too strong."
"Hmph, how so?"
Director Barton huffed angrily.
"The armor on the Brute-Force Knight was produced by our Apperton Arsenal. ...The material used, while not the best, was D30 Steel, which is technically quite advanced. ...It's impossible for it to be cut to pieces so easily by an ordinary longsword. ...And, I personally observed the Brute-Force Knight's combat tests. He's really strong."
With that.
This new Chairman turned the projector back on and projected his tablet onto the screen.
"This is test footage of the Brute-Force Knight. His opponents were all disobedient competitive knights. ...Among them was one Top 8 knight, two Top 16 knights, and four Top 32 knights. ...The Radiant Knight might be able to win against such a lineup, but an easy, crushing victory is unlikely. ...From the video, we can see the Brute-Force Knight was, you could say, devastating. A full-power blow from the Top 8 knight did almost no damage to him."
"I think, perhaps we were wrong! All of us were wrong!"
"We may have underestimated the Flametail Knight's strength from the very beginning. ...I even suspect that her difficulties, lucky wins, and weakness in all previous matches were just an act. ...Because she knew the Chamber of Commerce would definitely rig the matches, and the cameras in the tunnel aren't hidden, basically any competitor walking by would know. ...So, I speculate, the Flametail Knight already knew the Chamber of Commerce was watching her. ...All the weakness and difficulty in front of the camera was faked."
"I estimate that the Flametail Knight's strength is truly terrifying."
"This match has significant analytical value. We have to admit one thing: the Flametail Knight is far less simple than we thought, even trickier than any disobedient knight we've ever encountered."
This new Chairman's analysis was well-reasoned.
Compared to these old-timers who had been directors for many years... ...this new director talked a lot more... ...just like a rookie in the workplace, eager for everyone to pay attention to him. In reality, every rookie is like this; those who stick around long enough all become old-timers.
"Your analysis is very good, Mr. Apperton."
Director Barton said, stunned.
"So here's the problem! What good is the analysis? I just want to know how we can get rid of this 'little squirrel'."
When it came to this crucial point.
The other directors below fell silent again.
If they could take care of her in the dark, they had countless methods. ...But due to Raythean Industries' intervention, they didn't dare assassinate the Flametail Knight. ...The only way was to openly defeat her in the arena. ...And now, the Flametail Knight had advanced to the finals, which meant there was only one chance left. ...If they can't take her out this time, the Flametail Knight will truly grow into a big tree... ...and sweep the competition at the Championship Major in six months, maybe even winning the whole thing.
As for the qualifiers, the top four from the regular season historically receive a perk: they can skip the qualifying rounds and directly enter the Championship Major.
Killing the Flametail Knight is easy. Just send a group to swarm her.
But killing her in an open 1v1.
These directors really had no confidence left.
"My lab has several biological weapons even stronger than the Brute-Force Knight. ...One of them is a project from Columbia's Rhine Lab and the now-defunct Loken Water Tank. It's been in research for several years. ...If this plan succeeds, that test subject will be unprecedentedly powerful. ...Champion knights will be trash in front of it."
"So? Can it be deployed?"
The director's face tightened. "Er... not yet. The experiment isn't fully complete..."
"About how long..."
"Conservatively... half a year..."
Director Barton glared at him.
"Why didn't you tell me you had a plan back when you just created a new folder?!! ...The next match is this afternoon!! And you're telling me half a year!! Are you out of your mind..."
"Ahem..."
Just as Director Barton was about to go full-on toxic-flamer, a voice suddenly sounded from outside the door.
"Let me do it."
The person hadn't entered, but their voice arrived first.
The voice was completely unfamiliar to the directors, and it was incredibly cold. ...Just one sentence seemed to make the temperature in the entire meeting room drop.
Everyone scrambled to their feet. Then, a figure wrapped in a black robe... ...instantly appeared in the center of the conference table. ...The eyes under the hood were as cold as a frozen pond, sweeping over them without a shred of regard for the directors.
On the mysterious person's chest was a badge made of Darksteel. ...In his hand, a giant Darksteel greatbow, even larger than he was.
When Director Barton saw the Darksteel badge on the mysterious person's chest, he couldn't help but shiver.
"Dark! Darksteel Azurite!"
When Director Barton said this, all the directors present were too scared to speak, not even daring to breathe loudly.
Darksteel Azurite...
The highest echelon of the Armorless Union, the true founders, and the three most mysterious figures... ...Their level of mystery was no less than that of the Chamber of Commerce's three great Chairmen.
"I will enter the next match."
The Darksteel Azurite's voice rang out again. It was just simple speech, but it made Director Barton's eardrums hurt.
"Darksteel Azurite, you're going to compete personally?!"
"This 'squirrel' is not someone an ordinary person can handle. She has hidden much of her strength. We've all been deceived. ...Moreover... the deaths of the two directors previously were most likely her doing. I will execute her personally."
"!!!"
————————
Sona was trending. Again.
After this morning's match, an incredibly cool photo went viral online.
It was taken by a professional photographer in the middle of the tunnel leading to the arena.
The photo's overall tone was dark. ...However, the Flametail Knight's hair and tail were as vivid as fire... filling the photo with contrast. ...Behind the Flametail Knight, the Brute-Force Knight was gushing blood.
This image had the same vibe as that famous Columbia picture from many years ago: "A real man never looks back at an explosion."
Many people simply set this photo as their phone wallpaper.
And in the slums... almost all the Infected were gathered around the only TV, watching the broadcast. ...when they saw Sona instantly annihilate that huge guy, they danced with excitement. ...An Infected! Maybe a champion really could be born from them!! They could finally hold their heads high!!
The afternoon's match was equally eye-catching.
An unknown knight using a bow versus the Whislash Knight, who was in the top ten of the leaderboard.
All the spectators originally thought the Whislash Knight was guaranteed to win, but unexpectedly, there was a major upset.
The Whislash Knight, ranked in the top ten, lost utterly. ...She didn't even have a chance to fight back and was directly defeated.
Moreover, this bow-wielding knight didn't even fire a single arrow. ...Instead, he used his giant arrows to fight the Whislash Knight in close combat. ...He easily defeated her in the very area she excelled at.