My setting is above yours!

Chapter 98 Yar, it's time to make a move! (4k4)

The Silver Knight stared blankly at Ron, at his expression that held a mixture of friendliness, resentment, and expectation, and a ridiculous thought began to form in his mind:

'Could it be... that I was actually quite close to him before?'

But he knew that was impossible.

After all, the Silver Knight not only didn't have the surname Silver, but he also didn't know the title Silver Knight.

Only Ron would call him the Silver Knight because he was wearing silver armor.

He stared at Ron cautiously, pondering for a moment, but he couldn't figure out what Ron was thinking, nor did he have any memory of Ron in his mind.

Ron's identity was not revealed to him by [7] - after all, in [7]'s eyes, Ron was now disguised as a high-sequence powerhouse of [Memory Hall], and was a "chess player" who was on par with him.

There is no need to introduce Ron to a "pawn" like the Silver Knight... [7]

But for the Silver Knight, the sudden appearance of a completely unfamiliar being in Evening Bell City at this time, and the display of such an attitude... was quite terrifying.

'This guy suddenly appeared, and he seems to know me. Could it be that he knows something...? Does he know the script for Evening Bell City, or is he aware of my promotion ceremony?'

'So what's he doing here? Is there any possibility he might try to stop me...?'

Thinking of this, the Silver Knight's expression stiffened slightly, and his gaze toward Ron became scrutinizing and cautious.

But Ron saw through his caution and subtle hostility, and like a long-lost friend, gave the Silver Knight a big hug.

The Silver Knight's body stiffened instantly, almost unable to resist drawing his Bloodthorn and slashing at Ron, but then he heard a faint, calm voice beside him—

“I’m here to help you, Yar Austin.”

“You must remember… From now on, you will not only be an inquisitor in the script, but also a ‘Silver Knight’.”

"Don't forget to wear your earrings when the time is right..."

Upon hearing these words, the Silver Knight froze, a storm raging within him.
'He knew...he really did know the script for Evening Bell City!'

He pressed down on his hand, which was about to draw its sword, and looked at Ron, only to find that Ron still had that cheerful expression, smiling as he put his arm around his shoulder.

But the Silver Knight knew that although Ron couldn't see any flaws and didn't even seem to open his mouth... it must have been him who just spoke!
But if he does this, who is he trying to fool...? Is he trying to fool [7]?!

'But if he's trying to fool [7], why is he acting like he's helping me?'

'And... how could he know my trump card!'

Thinking of this, the Silver Knight subconsciously gripped the spear that was as tall as a man beside him, sensing the spiritual energy within its storage space.

It came from a snake-eye pendant, an extremely special extraordinary item capable of protecting consciousness, shielding it from the influence of [Mystic] sequence extraordinary abilities, and maintaining its own self...

This is one of the Silver Knight's trump cards that allowed him to cooperate with [7], and it is also his most important trump card.

He kept this thing very well hidden and never took it out to use. He only planned to use it at certain moments when he was preparing to rebel [7] to completely shake off [7]'s influence on his mind.

But Ron revealed its existence in a single sentence, as if he had laid bare the Silver Knight's entire secret...

However, the Silver Knight quickly calmed down.

As [42] of the [Secret Garden], a battle-hardened assassin, the Silver Knight's survival to this day is no small feat.

After briefly considering what Ron had said, he realized an important problem—

'This guy Ron, whose intentions are unclear, is trying to do something behind [7's] back... and he's certain that [7] and I have fundamentally conflicting interests in that matter!'

'Moreover, he also has ways to deal with [7], otherwise [7] wouldn't have been unaware after he said those things...'

But upon closer reflection, the Silver Knight couldn't help but feel a bit of a headache.

This matter is clearly related to the script of Evening Bell City, but within the script of Evening Bell City, the Silver Knight can't understand what kind of conflict he and [7] would have...

unless……

A thought popped into his mind that he didn't want to think about, but which he had actually anticipated long ago.

[7]...Perhaps a significant pit was dug for him during the promotion ceremony.

He still hasn't discovered that pit.

But ideas are one thing, without evidence, the Silver Knight really didn't want to break ties with [7].

To put it bluntly... do we really have to trust Ron?
To believe that someone whose true nature is completely unknown upon first meeting would oppose a saint...

But the Silver Knight's inner turmoil had barely begun when Ron noticed his hesitation and immediately used [Mask of Deception] to cover his subtle movements, adding two more words in an extremely quiet voice:

"[7] Let Puppet Town swallow this city..."

"He is about to be promoted."

Upon hearing Ron's words, the Silver Knight's inner turmoil immediately dissipated, and he was instantly filled with trust in Ron.

Previously, he was troubled because he hadn't found a reason to harm him [7], but Ron's additional sentence was enough to make the Silver Knight completely understand the key point.

'Puppet Town… Is He planning to secretly complete those rituals in this city?'

'Whether it's a promotion or healing... no, it doesn't matter. Whatever His reason, He's determined to harm me!'

The Silver Knight's expression turned serious, but he did not deny Ron's words.

After all, he had already noticed something amiss with [7] and a rift had already formed between them...

However, since he had not been able to find the target of [7], nor had he discovered that He had done anything to tamper with his promotion, and since he had a trump card to save his life during the promotion, he continued to cooperate under false pretenses, preparing to snatch chestnuts from the fire and become a demigod first.

But now... that idea is clearly impossible to succeed.

He has been completely drawn into the trap set for him by [7]. Let alone becoming a demigod, it is simply a pipe dream for him to escape on his own.

Of course, he doesn't have to rely entirely on himself—

At this point, Ron, who clearly had some grudge against [7] and seemed unfathomable, and was preparing to stop [7], was obviously his best ally!
'[7] Are you already prepared to make my promotion fail? Hmm, the potion ingredients needed for the [Theatrical Actor] come from the Masked Dancer. If I lose control, I might be assimilated by them...'

The arrival of Puppet Town is inevitably related to the Masked Dancer, and the easiest way to obtain a Masked Dancer is to make the Silver Knight lose control when he is promoted to [Theatrical Actor]...

'However, since they want me to fail in my promotion, [7]'s methods must have been aimed at my promotion ceremony!'

But... where exactly is it?

The Silver Knight frowned slightly as he thought about it:
'He gave me a wrong promotion ceremony? But he did write the script for me...'

'Using a script as a ritual to advance one's career as a theatrical actor is absolutely correct; perhaps the problem lies in certain symbolic concepts within this ritual based on the script…'

'And Ron just said that in this script, I have to become the so-called "Silver Knight"...' Thinking of this, the Silver Knight suddenly understood what Ron wanted to do.

'Ron wants to change my role in this script? So the mistake in this promotion ceremony stemmed from the role I was playing!'

'I shouldn't have used the role of a clown as a ceremonial goal for promotion!'

Thinking of this, the Silver Knight immediately understood what he needed to do next.

His furrowed brow immediately relaxed, revealing no trace of his true feelings. Instead, he responded to Ron with considerable enthusiasm:

"Haha, it's Lord Ron... It's been so long, I've indeed become a little estranged from you."

He adopted an expression as if he knew Ron very well, and began chatting with Ron at length, recounting many amusing anecdotes that seemed both true and false, as if he were truly immersed in the role of the "Silver Knight"...

Despite this, he didn't forget his purpose. Prompted by Ron's subtle hints, he took out the [Bloodthorn] and began to explain it meticulously:

"This is a containment item that His Holiness the Bishop brought out to prevent any accidents during this trip... The power within it comes from the extraordinary characteristics of [War] Sequence Four, and is a ceremonial sword carried by a [Thousand Death Warrior] on the battlefield..."

After giving a brief introduction to the weapon, the Silver Knight struck a heroic pose, stating that if he couldn't defeat Father Sull, he would ask Idrila and Ron to take up their swords and eliminate this evil traitor...

Ron immediately agreed, grabbed the Bloodthorn and hugged it tightly to his chest, seemingly ready to fight Father Suer to the death with this sword.

This time, because Ron and the Silver Knight reached a consensus in an extremely fast manner, and because Ron was not affected by the [Trick] fire, in less than ten minutes, everyone was ready to go out to the [Scorched Earth Sanctuary] to fight Father Sull.

At this moment, [7], who had been hiding in the "secret" and watching the plot unfold from beside them, almost couldn't help but shed tears, relying on his clone to manipulate the [trick] fire.

So many years, so many years!

For years, he hadn't seen a teammate as decisive and reliable as Ron.

To pinpoint the exact moment of the arrival of a [Puppet Town], Ron devoted himself to the task, working so hard that even [7] himself couldn't bear to watch it anymore—

To accelerate the plot, Ron can appear at any time in important parts of the story, acting as a supporting character to guide the plot and quickly lead to the ending.

In order to quickly skip certain cutscenes and dialogues, Ron even used a kind of mind control ability without restraint to directly control the characters in the script to speed through the plot...

Indeed, under the influence of the [Mask of Deception], it was impossible to hear the whispers that Ron was saying. [7] It seems that the Silver Knight's sudden behavior just now was essentially due to Ron's control over the Silver Knight's consciousness.

To speed up the plot, Ron simply took control of the characters who would be involved in the ending, controlling their speedruns...

In this light, [7] feels that his level of dedication to the script is not as high as Ron's!

How fast is the progress? How complete is the script?

Honestly, [7] I think if I personally took the stage, played Ron's role, and guided the actors in the script to perform perfectly and accelerate the plot, we could have reached the planned ending in less than a week...

Even if it were him, it would likely cause some plot conflicts in the script, ultimately leading to some problems with the ritual.

But Ron is different.

Even though Ron was stirring things up in the script and accelerating the plot toward the ending, his actions were as if he had rehearsed the script dozens of times. He didn't touch any of the plot's conflicts and didn't affect the ritual itself at all...

'This kind of thing... is probably only something that those with superhuman abilities in the [Time] sequence could accomplish.'

After all, only those with superhuman abilities in the [Time] sequence can truly see a corner of real time, attempt to start over, or make genuine prophecies, avoiding potential plot conflicts time and time again...

Thinking of this, [7] a hint of greed appeared in his eyes as he looked at Ron.

'Such powerful supernatural abilities... Lord Ron should be my ally forever.'

Although he considered Ron to be a high-sequence transcendent from the [Memory Hall], after these few days of contact, [7] successfully confirmed one thing—

Ron is definitely not a saint.

He lacked the necessary anchor of faith from the saints...[7] I couldn't smell the scent of faith in Ron.

In other words, if [7] can successfully conceal Evening Bell City and restore the Saint's status...

Then Ron would have no power to resist him and would be manipulated at his mercy!

A high-sequence transcendent being in the [time] sequence...

For [7], it is an extremely useful incarnation shell!

'How could I bear to lose a good ally like you in the future?'

'I'll have to make do with this a little, you'll have to eat and live with me from now on, and be my incarnation...'

[7] Silently thinking to herself, watching Ron take the lead, bringing Idrila and the Silver Knight to the [Scorched Earth Sanctuary], she immediately perked up, carefully controlling her clone, and wrote the original ending of the script on the [Trick] ember...

Suddenly, flames erupted from Father Suer's body, who was not far away:

"The heart of great strife has been set ablaze for me!"

He looked coldly at the crowd, his eyes shrouded in a gray mist, and had already taken his place in the role he was supposed to play.

"Hmph, putting up a stubborn resistance? I, the Silver Knight, will have to test your mettle!"

At this moment, the Silver Knight, following the script, immediately engaged Father Suer in battle. Soon, the scene would unfold where he would be pierced through the chest by Father Suer's sword, feigning death and ultimately defeated...

Hidden behind the scenes, seeing this scene through the eyes of his clone, [7] couldn't help but curl the corners of his mouth, already imagining his future where he would successfully make [Puppet Town] annex Evening Bell City, complete the ritual, and return to the Saint.

'Soon...almost there!'

My ceremony is about to succeed!

But right now.

Ron, who was supposed to do nothing, timed it perfectly and suddenly pulled out the Bloodthorn. Without hesitation, he rushed forward and, as if he had opened his third eye, slashed at the clone of [7]!

At that moment, he spoke simultaneously, shouting:
"Yal Austin! It's time to make your move... go for the kill!"

Upon hearing Ron's shout, the Silver Knight did not hesitate and immediately launched a deadly attack.

A murky light emanated from the spear in his hand, and he thrust it directly into Father Suer's chest, letting the chaotic light engulf him and erase his awareness that he was still alive.

For a moment, the flames on Father Su'er's body froze, and the light in his eyes dimmed.

The Silver Knight pinned the burning Father Suer to the ground, instantly killing him!

Upon seeing this, [7] was stunned.

What... is going on?!

(End of this chapter)