Peaceful Life System: I only need to live peacefully-Chapter 192: Standoff (2)

A moment of silence fell over the field.

Then, a single paladin let out a choked laugh. Another joined in. Soon, the entire legion of golden warriors was roaring with laughter. Their mockery echoed across the valley.

The Knight-Captain herself threw her head back and laughed. It was a sharp, scornful sound.

"You?" she said, her voice dripping with contempt. "Defeat me?"

She looked him up and down. She saw his simple clothes. She saw his lack of armor. She saw a peasant playing at being a hero.

"Brat," she sneered. "You have courage, I’ll give you that. But you have no idea what you are facing."

She raised her golden spear, its tip blazing with holy fire.

"Fine. I accept your challenge. I will enjoy breaking you."

The Knight-Captain smirked. She settled into a ready stance. Her golden spear hummed with a low, powerful energy.

The legion of paladins behind her took a single, synchronized step back. They formed a wide circle. This was to be a duel. An execution.

Riku watched her. He did not summon a weapon. He did not gather dark energy.

Instead, he raised a hand. A small, warm sphere of pure, white light formed in his palm. It was a simple spell. A basic healer’s light.

The Knight-Captain’s smirk widened into a sneer. "Is that it? You challenge a Knight-Captain of the Solari Legion with a child’s nightlight?"

Riku did not answer. He flicked his wrist. The sphere of light shot forward. It was not fast. It was not threatening.

The Knight-Captain scoffed. She swatted it away with the shaft of her spear. The light dissipated with a soft hiss. "Pathetic."

Riku raised his other hand. Two more spheres of light appeared. He sent them forward.

She deflected them just as easily. One. Two. They vanished like soap bubbles.

"I am growing bored, peasant," the captain said, her voice dripping with contempt. "Is this the full extent of the ’Hero of Korvan’s’ power? It is no wonder your kingdom is so weak."

She grew tired of the game. She raised her spear, its tip blazing with golden fire. "Let us end this farce."

With a sharp thrust, she unleashed a volley of lances made of pure, concentrated light. They screamed through the air, each one carrying enough force to punch through the wall of a fortress.

Riku did not move. He simply raised a hand.

Barrier. Tier 3. [-50 Goodwill Points]

A translucent, golden shield shimmered into existence just in front of him. The holy lances slammed into it with a series of deafening cracks. The shield held firm. Not a single fracture appeared on its surface.

The Knight-Captain’s eyes widened slightly. The sneer on her face faltered for a moment.

Her attack was definitely not a normal one. It should have shattered a simple barrier with ease.

She took a step forward. "So you have a few tricks. It does not matter."

"Why do you even bother?" she asked, her voice laced with genuine confusion. "Why would someone blessed by the Light waste their strength defending these... northern weaklings?"

Riku’s calm expression tightened. "They are not weaklings."

The Knight-Captain laughed. It was a sharp, ugly sound. "Aren’t they? They practice the dark arts. They live in the shadows because they are too weak to face the light. They are corrupt and lesser people. It is a known fact."

"That is not a fact," Riku said, his voice dangerously quiet. "It is prejudice."

"It is the truth!" the captain retorted, her voice rising. "The Light is pure. The Light is strong. The dark is tainted. The dark is feeble. That is how it has always been. That is how it will always be."

The paladins behind her murmured in agreement. Some of them laughed openly.

"She speaks the truth, brat!" one of them shouted.

"Go back to your mud hut and leave real matters to the Legion!" another jeered.

Riku ignored them. His gaze was fixed on the Knight-Captain. "You believe darkness is inherently weak?"

"I know it is," she sneered. "I saw your little magic show earlier. A few puffs of smoke. A fancy light trick. Your power is an illusion. It has no substance. No strength."

She gestured with her spear towards Lord Falco’s group. "Look at them. They are a perfect example. They came here with their strongest mages. And they were brought to their knees by a single boy who probably doesn’t even have hair down there. Pathetic." 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

The words struck Lord Falco’s group like physical blows.

Lord Falco, who had been watching with a mixture of fear and curiosity, clenched his fists. His face flushed with a deep, burning humiliation.

Rudolf’s weary expression hardened. He looked down at the ground, unable to meet the mocking gazes of the paladins.

Mistress Vexia, still pale from her defeat, flinched as if she had been struck again.

Marci stood frozen. Her eyes were wide. She stared at the laughing paladins. She saw the contempt in their glowing eyes. She heard the scorn in their voices. They were not just insulting her father. They were insulting her entire world. Her entire identity.

Sherry stood near the people of Elowen, but her body was trembling as well. Her hands were clenched so tightly that her knuckles were white. Tears of rage and humiliation started to well up in her eyes. She bit her lip so hard that a single drop of blood appeared.

All this time in the empire of light, she had finally started to believe in the people here. Riku and the others had given her a home, and she felt safe and welcomed in it.

But now, these golden, perfect soldiers were saying the same things others had said earlier. They were laughing at her. At her very existence.

Riku saw it all. He saw the shame on Falco’s face. He saw the pain in Marci’s eyes. He saw the single, silent tear of rage that escaped Sherry’s eye and traced a path down her cheek.