Uncle here isn't your average office worker!

DiCeopolis patted Roy on the shoulder and asked with concern, "Brother Lobbyist, you've had a good time. I hope you weren't hurt."

Roy shook his head, indicating that he didn't need to worry: "Not at all, Blood Knight, you actually stepped forward to take that sword strike, leaving such a large gash on your gauntlet. Are you injured?"

Dikeopolis immediately patted his chest, appearing strong and unharmed, and said, "It's nothing. That was just for show for the Business Association. It's just a small injury on my arm, nothing serious. Besides, if I didn't have a single wound, you wouldn't know how to explain it when you got back, would you?"

Roy glanced guiltily at the clear, bright red handprint on Dikeopolis's right cheek and quickly nodded, saying, "Thank you for thinking of me. You're so thoughtful."

The Blood Knight scratched his head. To him, this was a minor matter. After more than a dozen rounds of fighting with Roy, he could deeply feel that Roy's strength was far beyond that of ordinary people. In terms of strength and speed alone, he was no less than himself. The only possible weakness was that although Roy was holding a long sword, he was not skilled in swordsmanship and was only controlling the blade with absolute strength.

Even so, it posed a considerable threat to him. DiCeopolis couldn't imagine whether he could save his own life if Roy really attacked him.

Moreover, Roy hasn't even used his Originium Arts yet!

For those living on the land of Terra, Originium Arts is undoubtedly a person's trump card, and this is no exception in the Knights' Tournament of Kazimierz.

The Candle Knight's mysterious and unpredictable candlelight magic, the Left-Handed Knight's intimidating pressure magic, and his own blood magic that can quickly heal injuries, provide almost endless stamina, and even blind him with blood and turn blood into a blade!

These are their trump cards; once used, they go all out to achieve a decisive victory.

During the battle just now, it was noticed that Roy did not intend to use any spells, so Decaopolis did not use his blood spells at the beginning either.

But after a series of battles, Roy remained energetic and fought with increasing ferocity, while he himself was already showing signs of fatigue and was starting to feel the strain.

In order to keep up with Roy's attack rhythm, Dichaopolis had to start using blood magic to replenish his energy, but soon he was surprised to find that even so, he and Roy were only barely evenly matched!

Even now, Roy still shows no intention of using Originium Arts.

Dikeopolis looked at Roy and finally couldn't help but ask:

"Lord Lobbier, do you not use magic?"

Roy paused for a moment, then waved his hand and said, "I don't know Originium Arts."

Dikeopolis chuckled awkwardly, glancing at Feng Ti, and concluded that he was lying without thinking. Not knowing Originium Arts meant he wasn't even putting thought into his lies. Just that longbow he was carrying on his back, which he'd never used, was enough to hint at a lot.

However, to be fair, his question was somewhat rash. The lobbyist was meticulously dressed, revealing no distinguishing features whatsoever, not even his swordsmanship, all to conceal his true identity. Originium Arts are one of a person's most important trump cards, diverse and varying from person to person; once exposed, it's tantamount to revealing one's face directly.

If Mr. Lobby used magic, wouldn't all his previous efforts to conceal things have been in vain?

Thinking of this, DiCeopolis immediately apologized to Roy:

"I'm sorry, but Mr. Lobby has a longer-term perspective. I understand."

Roy: “?”

What do you unserstand?

Oh, the old lynx mod is enabled. That's fine then.

Silently closing the troublesome "?" level module, Roy looked up at the sun overhead.

The sun was no longer directly overhead, but was tilting slightly westward, and it was probably a little past one o'clock.

If Xuan Tie's sense of time is correct, it certainly can't be considered morning anymore.

Roy took out his anonymous phone, edited the message "Mission Completed", found Xuan Tie's number, and clicked send.

Looking at the progress bar on the module panel, where the quantity had increased by one to reach (6/10), Roy's face lit up with a happy smile.

You're done!

"Alright, Blood Knight, please refrain from showing yourself this afternoon. Just head to the Meteor Arena tonight for the competition. I'll take my leave now..."

"Ding~ Hmm hmm hmm~"

The sudden ringtone interrupted Roy's instructions. Unlike the short and urgent ringtone of an anonymous cell phone, this ringtone was melodious and gentle, as if a Lytanian was singing softly in his ear.

Roy glanced awkwardly at the Blood Knight, whose expression was somewhat subtle. As an old rival on the field, he could, of course, tell who was behind that soft hum.

"Miss Candle Knight is truly charming."

The Blood Knight smiled and shrugged, indicating that Roy didn't need to worry about him.

Roy could only pull out his rarely used personal cell phone from his pocket and look at the name of the caller ID.

—Viviana.

Why would she call me at this time?

Roy paused for a moment, pressed the answer button, put the phone to his ear, and whispered:

"Moshi Moshi, hello?"

"Roy! Where are you right now!" Viviana's anxious voice came from the other end of the phone. "You're going to be late for your match! Do you know that?!"

"A competition?" Roy asked in surprise.

"The tournament pre-match exhibition match is being held at Meteor Arena at 1:30 PM today! It officially starts in ten minutes! Where are you?"

Seemingly realizing she had become too excited, Viviana took a deep breath, calmed herself, and said seriously,

“Roy, we respect each other as knights. I despise this kind of handout victory more than being defeated by you. It's an insult to me.”

"I hope you'll be standing before me in ten minutes!"

The phone call ended.

Roy gasped.

Damn it, I got so into acting that I forgot all about this!

When he completed his solo mission, he did receive a competition notification from his terminal. But before he could even look at it, he was summoned from Hinterlands, then entangled with Maria for several days as her tutor, and then received a mission to assassinate a Blood Knight.

After a while, he forgot about it.

There are still ten minutes left. Plot 0 is a full ten blocks away from the Meteor Arena in the city center. Unless he has Margaret's ability to transform into a beam of light and charge forward, there's no way he can arrive on time.

Wait, Margaret? 9

Roy's gaze slowly descended, landing on the mysterious skill. 4

【The Great Wilderness Starfall】8

Ding—Roy Panson is on his way. (Disperse)

P.S.: Please vote! I'll add more chapters. 2

I update every day without fail, so why are people saying I've stopped updating? 4

I'm just trying to salvage the situation by defeating Phantom Assassin and getting the rewards, that's why I'm writing slowly. (Zero)

This afternoon, at 4 PM, I joined the large group, performed a twisted crawl, and experienced psionic ascension. 9

Volume 1: Chapter 23 Today's Weather: Clear skies turning to clear skies; a star falls in the Great Wilderness! 2

Kazimir, Kavaleria, Meteor Arena, Candle Knight's Lounge. 01:25 pm

A gentle knock came at the door of the lounge, and a respectful voice came from outside, reminding him, "Five minutes left, Lord Candle Knight, it's time to go on stage."

Viviana gripped her phone tightly, staring at Roy's name in her contacts. She pursed her lips and asked:

Where is my opponent?

Charne replied, "I'm sorry, we haven't seen Mr. Roy yet. If he hasn't arrived by 1:30, when the match officially starts, we will disqualify him from the competition according to the Knights' Tournament Regulations."

As he spoke, he kindly reminded him:

"This is a good thing for you. Making the enemy retreat without a fight without lifting a finger is a very useful propaganda tool for enhancing your reputation."

Viviana's beautiful eyebrows furrowed slightly, and she did not answer Charne's question.

She didn't believe she had the power to make Roy back out of the competition. It was more likely that he had encountered some trouble that delayed his schedule, preventing him from arriving at the competition venue on time at 1:30, thus forcing him to withdraw.

It could be bribery, assassination, or even a staged traffic accident or other unforeseen event—these are all common tactics used by the Business Federation when dealing with disobedient racing knights.

That's why Viviana just risked being discovered to call Roy. She wanted to confirm Roy's safety. If Roy really met with misfortune, even at the risk of disobeying the Business Federation's orders and openly refusing to compete, she would rush to Roy's side to protect him.

However, when Viviana heard Roy's surprised tone, as if he had forgotten about the matter, she immediately felt a surge of anger.

I'm here worrying about your safety, I've even considered skipping the race and eloping, and you're acting all carefree, probably off somewhere fooling around. Do you even care about our race? You wretched man.

Viviana understood Roy's character. Perhaps this kind of victory in the arena was insignificant to him, but for Viviana, this surrendered victory was a great humiliation for her, who had been working hard to improve her strength and wanted to fight Roy fairly.

Do not underestimate the girl's determination, and do not belittle her efforts. If Roy really missed the match with her because of some "trivial matter", Viviana would be extremely angry, to the point of blacklisting Roy's phone number and never contacting him again!

Of course, if he really is in some trouble and can't get away right now, as long as he apologizes, Viviana will definitely give him a chance to explain.

After all, she might be the only one in the Great Knights who doesn't see herself as a Candle Knight or a Letanian, but rather as Viviana's friend.

Hmm...did I say something a bit too harsh on the phone just now?

But who told him to look like he'd just woken up from a dream? He deserved it!

"Phew—" With a long sigh, Viviana still couldn't send the apology text message she had prepared. In a fit of pique, she closed her contacts, stood up, composed her expression of mixed grievance and anxiety, calmed her turbulent emotions, and put on a business-like smile as she said to the door, "I understand."

The girl grasped the Letanian rapier stored in its case, picked up the golden candlestick shimmering with soft candlelight, closed her eyes, and the light of Originium Arts flickered around her, then slowly receded, settling at the tip of the sword and the candle. When she opened her eyes again, the Elafian girl named Viviana had already disappeared into the shadows, and walking onto the stage was the single-word titled Grand Knight of Kazimierz, the leader of the Scattered Blossom Knights, and the number one in the popularity vote—the Candle Knight.

1:29 PM. Meteor Arena, Mob the commentator.

The usually enthusiastic commentator, Mobu, was now trembling even with his right hand holding the water glass, his face contorted with worry, scratching his head in frustration.

The Candle Knight Viviana has made her appearance, and her impromptu introduction has been met with thunderous applause. This has also successfully fueled the enthusiasm for the Knight Prize Ticket guessing game. The prize pool on the screen is steadily rising, just like her own heart at this moment—anxious and restless feeling, as if every second is an eternity.

So much so that when he heard the sound of Ciarne's boots as he walked onto the podium, he turned around almost instantly and asked Ciarne:

"Speaker, has Sir Roy not arrived yet?"

But all he got in return was a helpless shrug and a cruel reply from Charn: "Unfortunately, no, Mr. Mob. You might have to consider changing your long introductory speech to a statement explaining Roy's withdrawal from the competition."