"You want to challenge me?"
Looking at the purple-haired, purple-armored Lancelot—who appeared even younger than he remembered—Souya was momentarily at a loss.
If he remembered correctly, he had never met Lancelot before, right?
Since they had no prior connection, what grudge or grievance drove him to challenge Souya right after he had just recovered from his injuries?
Seemingly noticing the confusion on Souya's face, Lancelot gestured to him with his sword.
"Yes. Although it is somewhat rude of me, Sir Lamorak, to seek a spar with you right after you have recovered, if I do not act now, I fear the others will not be able to hold themselves back."
As he spoke, Lancelot glanced around. Following his gaze, Souya saw Gawain, Tristan, Percival, and the others smiling sheepishly.
"So, you all want a piece of me?"
Souya's teeth started aching again. These people were the renowned Knights of the Round Table; not a single one of them could be underestimated.
Looking at their expressions now, they clearly intended to fight him one by one. But what kind of situation was this!
Soloing the Knights of the Round Table... me?
"Sir Lancelot, this seems a bit inappropriate, doesn't it? After all, Sir Lamorak has only just recovered. Even if you want to spar, you should wait until he has fully recuperated."
Artoria, standing to the side, also seemed to feel that the others were somewhat deliberately targeting Souya, so she frowned slightly, wanting to help him out of this predicament.
But Souya thought for a moment and ultimately agreed.
He had no choice. It only took a little thought for Souya to understand why Lancelot and the other Knights of the Round Table had issues with his attitude.
In the end, it was human competitiveness.
No one could frankly accept a newcomer—who had just joined—immediately taking a higher position than themselves, especially when their boss intentionally or unintentionally showed favoritism towards him.
Not to mention that they had just rescued this newcomer.
That was the Third Seat of the Round Table. Although the Round Table proclaimed equality and fairness, could the person in the last seat truly be compared to the King in the first seat?
Just like the so-called chivalry. Even if it demanded knights to be humble and without competitiveness, wasn't the highly praised knightly duel also a process of comparison?
Humans, as creatures, could not escape the truth of 'comparison'. This was precisely why Fou, who possessed the Principle of Comparison, could become one of the Evils of Humanity while loving humanity.
Understanding this, Souya naturally had no reason to refuse Lancelot.
It was perfect. If he wanted to lie low peacefully within the Round Table until the final act arrived, the first thing he had to do was establish a firm foothold.
Harboring this thought, Souya first gave Artoria a grateful smile. Then, surrounded by everyone, he arrived at the open space in front of the castle with Lancelot.
With a wave of his hand, platinum light transformed into a long spear in Souya's hand. Magical energy, long unused, flowed from Souya's palm into Rhongomyniad (Mana Burst), bringing a gentle and benevolent feedback.
"Come to think of it, it's been a long time since I've fought."
Feeling the magical energy within his body also seemingly growing restless, Souya felt a heat in his heart.
No strong person does not desire an evenly matched battle. Especially knowing that he would definitely face a massive war in the near future, Souya understood even more that he could not let his martial arts grow rusty.
"Sir Lancelot, are you ready?"
Souya twirled Rhongomyniad a few times to slightly familiarize himself with its feel, then looked up at the purple knight opposite him.
"Of course. The battle can begin at any time."
Lancelot tapped his chest armor with 'Arondight'.
This was the etiquette of medieval knightly duels, expressing respect for the opponent and the battle.
"Knight of the Lake, Lancelot, and the Holy Sword Arondight, pay their respects."
Seeing this, Souya hesitated slightly, but he still mimicked Lancelot, tapping his black-blue 'Queen's Fortress' armor with the long spear in his hand, and replied.
"Knight of Radiance, Lamorak, and the Holy Lance Rhongomyniad, pay their respects to you."
Logically speaking, Souya should not have spoken the name of the Holy Lance. After all, if anyone knew its lore, it would inevitably arouse suspicion towards him.
But when Lancelot announced the name of Arondight, Souya could feel the Holy Lance in his hand transmitting a sense of anticipation to him.
It was as if it was yearning to fight alongside Souya under its own name.
After experiencing Rhongomyniad's emotions, Souya thought about it and ultimately chose to follow her wishes.
After all, Merlin, the only one who knew everything, was not here. And something like the Anchor of the Planet was certainly a profound secret known only to an extremely small number of people. Without deliberate spread of its legend, even if he spoke its true name, probably no one would recognize it.
And the reality was indeed so. When they heard Souya announce the name of the Holy Lance, Rhongomyniad, in his hands, everyone's expressions were filled with confusion.
Rhongomyniad? Holy Lance? What is this thing, and who came up with that name?
Even Artoria, who was supposed to be the future master of Rhongomyniad, was full of confusion at this moment.
Artoria only felt that the aura brought by this spear seemed similar to her own Excalibur, but upon closer inspection, it seemed completely different.
However, this was clearly not the time to ponder this matter. As Lancelot took the initiative to slash at Souya with his sword, the young girl instantly threw all her doubts to the back of her mind, joining the knights in focusing on the battle between Souya and Lancelot.
"You must win, Sir Lamorak!"
Although both sides of the battle were her knights, and as a King she logically shouldn't show favoritism, watching Souya block Lancelot's slashes with the Holy Lance, Artoria couldn't help but hope for the former's victory.
Clang!
In just a few short minutes, the sound of the Holy Lance and Holy Sword clashing continuously rang through the air.
When Souya once again parried a heavy and powerful sword strike from Lancelot with Rhongomyniad, even though the opponent's aggressive magical energy surged like a tsunami, it was completely blocked and absorbed by the Holy Lance.
It was like a tower standing at the end of the world; no matter how fierce the attack, it remained towering and unmoving.
Bang!
Seeing that he still hadn't gained the slightest advantage, Lancelot didn't choose to continue close-quarters combat with Souya this time. Instead, he jumped back to create distance between them.
"It seems I truly underestimated you, Sir Lamorak."
Gently shaking his wrist, which was somewhat numb from the continuous clashes, Lancelot's gaze towards Souya no longer held the slightest hint of contempt. It was replaced by the solemnity of facing an opponent of the same caliber.
This guy is very strong!
Even though the other party had basically adopted a defensive stance just now, the mere fact that he could perfectly block his attacks every time without showing any signs of decline was enough to surprise Lancelot.
One must know that in all his battles until now, he had won relying on superb technique and unparalleled strength. The reason he wielded the sword 'Arondight' was because only its 'indestructible' characteristic could fully bear his strength and magical energy without crumbling.
It was not the Holy Sword that chose him, but he, Lancelot, who chose the Holy Sword.
Yet just now, even when he had used eighty percent of his strength, Souya had been able to withstand all his attacks without retreating half a step.
This made Lancelot deeply realize that he was not a simple opponent.
But if that is the case...
"Then I no longer need to hide my true strength."
As Lancelot's words fell, everyone present felt a powerful pressure erupt from his body. The dark gold Holy Sword in his hand also burst forth with a blue lake light resembling an arc welder at this moment.
"This is..."
Seemingly because the light was too dazzling, the onlookers all squinted their eyes in unison.
"Come, Sir Lamorak. At this point, you no longer need to try and block this attack of mine. It is fundamentally impossible for you to defend against it."
Lancelot raised the Holy Sword high above his head, a confident smile on his lips.
"Because this is the complete manifestation of my power: 'Overload: Breaking All Chains—Overweight Lake Light' (Knight of Owner)!"
Hearing Lancelot's certain words, Souya, who had been silent all this time, finally responded.
He looked at Lancelot with a strange expression, then looked at the platinum long spear in his hand, and slowly spoke.
"Well, since you've said so, I can only satisfy you."
Before everyone could react, the next moment, an equally dazzling yet blinding light suddenly rose from Souya's hand, turning into a golden pillar of light shooting into the sky.
"Shine, Rhongomyniad."
Seeing this, Lancelot laughed loudly and poured the lake light towards Souya.
In an instant, the two massive pillars of light collided and intertwined. The resulting wind pressure forced everyone to take a few steps back.
But just when the knights thought the outcome would be evenly matched or mutually destructive, the golden pillar of light merely stalemated with the blue lake light for a few breaths before smashing and crushing it like breaking bamboo. It then sent Lancelot, whose face was full of disbelief, flying.
"Buga!!!"
Accompanied by Lancelot's scream, the Knight of the Lake ultimately ended in a miserable defeat.
"Phew..."
Letting out a soft breath, Souya smiled at the dumbfounded Gawain, Percival, and the others nearby.
"Who's next?"
Should he say the Holy Lance truly lives up to its name? The beam of light emitted by resonating with it using only about a seventh of his magical energy was already enough to rival Lancelot's Noble Phantasm, the 'Arc Welder of the Lake'.
One must know that in the clash with Lancelot just now, Souya didn't even use his Water Magecraft or his Noble Phantasm.
He merely relied on the inherent power of the Holy Lance and the basic application of 'Intercepting Flow'.
It was only at this moment that Souya truly understood how much a suitable and handy weapon could help a strong person.
He silently transmitted a feeling of gratitude to Rhongomyniad in his hand. Unsurprisingly, he felt her gentle response again.
Witnessing Lancelot, the strongest of the Round Table, defeated just like that, the other knights immediately looked at each other in dismay.
After a long while, Gawain gritted his teeth and stepped forward.
"I will go!"
So, ten minutes later.
"Bloom with light! Excalibur Galatine!"
"Ah!" Defeat x1
Another ten minutes later.
"The tone of pain, the melody of sorrow. That which rends your flesh is my sorrow. Failnaught..."
"How is this possible!" Defeat x2
Another ten minutes later.
"Appear, Longinus!"
"Masaka (Impossible)..." Defeat x3
In the end, all the Knights of the Round Table, except Kay and Agravain, were defeated by Souya and fell to the ground.
When Souya turned his gaze to the last two, their answers were as follows.
Agravain: "Speaking from common sense, I am a strategist. I do not need to participate in battles."
Kay: "What, you still want to lay a hand on me?"
Finally, under Artoria's complex gaze, Souya successfully carved through the entire Round Table alone.
Thus, he achieved the Fastest Legend to Clear the Round Table.