A battle with no suspense at all, purely a one-sided domination.

Everyone who watched from beginning to end thought so, and believed that Winnie had no chance of winning whatsoever.

However, at this very moment, Winnie, who had just stood up, suddenly accelerated.

This wind-like speed caught the young squire, who had grown accustomed to Winnie’s sluggish pace, completely off guard.

[Lightweight Armor]: Removes all the weight of the armor and significantly increases speed for a short period.

Moreover, Winnie had deliberately conserved his stamina all along.

His previous exhaustion was entirely feigned, leading his opponent to mistakenly believe that “his stamina was completely drained,” thereby lowering his guard.

This might not fool a seasoned warrior, but it was enough to deceive this novice squire.

At this moment, there was no need to deliberately slow down.

The armor felt as light as nothing, and with the speed boost, Winnie dashed forward like the wind!

In just a few breaths, he was within striking distance of the squire!

Accustomed to Winnie’s slow pace, the squire was caught off guard.

After a brief moment of panic, he realized it was too late to knock an arrow and instinctively reached for his sword.

His lack of real combat experience showed, as his reaction was a beat too slow.

Before he could even grip his sword properly, Winnie’s two-meter-long spear had already flicked it out of his hand.

This was where the advantage of a mid-range weapon like the spear became evident.

The squire was now unarmed and had no time to draw his bow.

The sudden reversal of the situation was so abrupt that the squire didn’t even have time to process what was happening before he was on the verge of defeat.

While the squire was still in shock, the two Dragon Knights in the stands had already reacted.

The more hot-tempered one, seeing the situation turn dire, immediately stood up and shouted at the squire, disregarding the basic rules of a duel.

“Use magic skill to blast him! That guy’s Soul Armament can’t defend against magic!”

The squire snapped out of his daze.

In the heat of the moment, he didn’t even consider the side effects of casting the beginner-level [Bow Arm] skill, nor did he remember that this was supposed to be a controlled duel.

Without hesitation, he raised his energy-infused hand, and a searing fireball surged from his palm.

The Dragon Knight was so agitated that, in this moment, it seemed he had completely forgotten the chivalry he usually preached, or perhaps, to him, it was all just worthless nonsense.

Fully focused on the arena, he didn’t notice the cold gaze from the main seating area.

Aesphyra shook her head.

This had already deviated from the bounds of a restrained duel.

In the eyes of everyone present, Winnie, who was about to take the full brunt of this fireball, was an ordinary person who had only just absorbed his Soul Armament a few days ago and had no elemental resistance whatsoever.

Armor provided no elemental resistance, meaning Winnie, an ordinary person, would be taking this fireball head-on with his bare body.

This could very well be fatal.

Mirexia quickly stood up, her flowing golden twin tails swaying.

However, at such close range, no one could do anything to stop the small fireball in time.

The fireball was launched, and at the same moment, Winnie’s spear was just a step away from piercing the squire’s light armor.

Ignoring the sudden surge of heat, Winnie didn’t stop his forward charge!

The scene seemed to freeze at this moment.

The next instant.

“Boom!” The fireball exploded on Winnie’s chest!

“Winnie!” Mirexia, still maintaining her composure, immediately turned to her personal maid, who was also stunned, and said, “Kalin, go to the church and call Priest Won!”

“Ah, yes!” Kalin, snapping out of her daze, quickly lifted her skirt and hurried off, not even bothering with a proper curtsy.

The explosion of the small fireball filled the arena with a cloud of black smoke, obscuring the view of the two combatants from the stands.

After the explosion, everything seemed to return to calm.

The squire, still in a state of loss, suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest.

Then, in his dazed vision, he saw a scene he would never forget.

The once-shiny fish-scale armor was now charred, covered in scorch marks, with cracks revealing remnant flames.

Even the red tassel on the helmet had burned to a crisp.

The fully armored figure, ignoring the burns, emerged from the dark smoke, spear in hand, and thrust it into the squire’s light armor, pinning him against the arena wall.

The squire, ignoring the pain, saw something even more terrifying.

From within the dark visor, two billowing black smoke-like lights seemed to shoot out, like the eyes of a demon from hell.

What… what is this??

Is this even human…??

The squire’s pupils shrank, and then he saw the armored figure, who had him pinned against the wall, lean in close and say, word by word: “You think you can out-brutalize me?”

“You’re not even close.”

A withering, desolate wind seemed to sweep through, and the squire’s legs gave out.

He collapsed to the ground.

Winnie pulled his spear back and stood it upright, resting one hand on it as he calmly looked down at his defeated opponent, who was now begging for mercy.

The wind lifted the flag tied to the spear.

Victory was the goddess’s reward to the brave.

He had won.

Mirexia stared at the figure, battered but unyielding, with a mix of disbelief and an indescribable complexity in her eyes.

Regardless of whether his motivation was just to show off his brutality, this was something the old Winnie could never have done.

Aesphyra, resting her chin on her hand, cast an amused glance at Winnie.

This was getting more and more interesting.

This version of Winnie was much smarter than the one from the previous life.

Could it be that he was also a regresser? Or did he know about her identity as a regresser?

A hint of doubt flashed through her mind, but Aesphyra shook her head.

No matter. Time would tell.

This villain would eventually show his true colors.

The silver-haired young girl played with her hair and turned her attention away.

She never paid much attention to people who didn’t interest her.

If it weren’t for the fact that Winnie would become a scoundrel in the future and had a “life-and-death connection” with her, she wouldn’t have spared him a second thought.

Her goal was to find his weaknesses early and eliminate the threat before it could grow.

Compared to insignificant people, her dear Mirexia was far more important, wasn’t she?

Revenge was just an appetizer. Without the significance of revenge, Winnie was nothing to her.

With this thought, the silver-haired girl, in a moment unseen by others, flashed a sly, charming smile at the golden-haired girl beside her.

Be prepared, Princess Mirexia. Once she set her sights on her “prey,” there was no escape.

“Remember your promise,” Winnie said, his gaze shifting to the young knight, whose expression had now stiffened.

He extended his hand. “Forty gold coins, as agreed. Not a single one less.”

“…”

The knight beside him looked troubled. Clearly, he hadn’t anticipated this outcome either.

Before he could say anything, the hot-tempered knight spoke up first.

“Young master Winnie, you went too far! It was just a duel, and you’ve beaten our squire into such a state??”

“This loser’s act of playing the victim and blaming others first is exactly what I’d expect from you,” Winnie sneered.

“But this time, you have to pay up.”

“Or are you planning to welch on your debt in front of the royal family?” Winnie added, glancing toward Mirexia.

“Winnie, do you realize what you’re saying? Are you provoking the Dragon Knights??” the hot-tempered knight roared.

“I don’t like wasting words on people who can’t understand human speech. It’s pointless,” Winnie retorted, raising his head.

“Pay up.”

“You…” The other knight quickly restrained his hot-headed comrade.

The big oaf might not have noticed, but he had long sensed it.

The gaze from the main seating area was now icy cold.