Crest of the Strongest Knight

Chapter 6 - The Strongest Knight

Ritya was the first to recover from the initial shock of Medrauta's declaration.

"You cannot challenge us to a duel! You have no personal stake in this conflict!"

"Hah! No, let her!" Bastiche laughed, a cackling sound that clearly conveyed how idiotic he thought Medrauta was. "I don't care if she's known as the 'strongest knight'! What the hell is she going to do without a lord by her side, huh?"

"Fool," Medrauta spat. "I challenged these knights to a duel, not a match. 'The nobles are governed by different rules than we', are they not, Ritya? Tell him about the rules that govern us knights."

"...Dame Medrauta is correct, Lord Bastiche. Nobles may not aid us during duels. However, this challenge is invalid. She has no personal involvement in this situation."

"Oh? But I do."

Ritya looked at Medrauta skeptically. "...And what is your stake, praytell?"

Medrauta grinned. More accurately, the expression that she displayed on her face right now was not a smile, but that of a predator baring their fangs at their prey. "The highest of them all. I am Lady Viviane's knight, and you have all slighted her."

"H-Huh?" Though confused, Viviane stared up at Medrauta in wonder, her once dulled eyes now glistening with not tears, but rays of hope.

"I must have disappointed you, Lady Viviane. To think that you would seek to replace me with another... Allow me to dispatch these ten fools in your name," Medrauta smirked. "Then, we can have a nice long talk afterwards."

...What? No... It can't be! Did I miscalculate!? A thorn of fear and doubt shot into Ritya's heart for the first time since Medrauta had entered the room. She was used to being calm and composed. She was used to controlling the situation around her merely with words, and using only the most elegant methods of force to dispatch her enemies if needed.

Yet, Medrauta had turned the situation around with only a single declaration. Ritya stepped backward, her body instinctively understanding that Medrauta was by far her superior in single combat.

Wait... I'm not alone this time! This isn't single combat! She challenged us all! A surge of hope rose in Ritya's chest then. That's right! She might be strong, but there's no way she can defeat all ten of us!

"Nobles. Clear the area," Medrauta commanded. "Knights. Draw your swords or shame yourselves and your oathsworn for now and forever."

One by one, the knights looked upon one another and nodded, as if affirming something. Slowly, they encircled Medrauta as the nobles vacated the center of the training hall, climbing up onto the bleachers by the edges of the hall to watch.

The sound of steel slithering against leather was the only noise in the training hall for a good couple of seconds. It wasn't until Medrauta drew her own sword that the reality of the situation truly began to sink in for all the knights in the training hall.

Although she was the 'strongest knight', it was still suicidal to challenge ten knights simultaneously, especially when none of them could be considered weak by any measure. If it had been any other knight, they would have been defeated instantly.

However, Medrauta was not 'any other knight.'

The shuffling of leather boots against the hardwood floor. The adrenaline-laden breaths of her opponents as their bodies acclimatized to combat. All of these were sounds that would have been insignificant to any other knight, but not to Medrauta.

By taking in even the most insignificant of minutiae, Medrauta deduced her opponents' coordinated attack a second before they could strike.

And a mere second was all she needed.