Uncle here isn't your average office worker!

"Zi!"

Instead of the expected deafening explosion of the fireballs, there was a hissing sound like a short circuit. Before the eyes of all the spectators, the five enormous fireballs were reduced to black smoke and dissipated as the Winter Knight pierced them at a speed almost invisible to the naked eye.

"Next, we need to get through the wall of fire and take down this little girl."

Muttering to himself, the Winter Knight walked toward the raging wall of fire before him. He could almost picture the terrified and bewildered expression on the face of the Letanian girl behind that impenetrable wall of flames.

It's a pity I can't kill her. Knightly duels, these bloodless things, are really boring.

He muttered a curse under his breath, then raised his triangular dagger and thrust it at the wall of fire in front of him.

"Zi-"

Centered on the triangular sword blade that touched the wall of fire, the wall of fire was gradually destroyed, and within the slowly expanding circle, Viviana's figure finally reappeared in the Winter Knight's pupils.

However, it was not a panicked lamb to the slaughter, but a powerful sorcerer who held a candlestick high, floated slightly in the air, and chanted with his eyes closed.

"Touch of Light, steal his radiance!"

With a soft chant, Viviana pointed the Candle Sword in her hand directly at the ground beneath the Winter Knight's feet, and at the same time, the light of the candlestick rose to its highest level!

"what!"

Suddenly, the Winter Knight felt the ground beneath his feet become incredibly hot, but before he could react, the spell, which had already been fully charged, suddenly rose up and engulfed him.

Centered on the arena beneath his feet, a dazzling display of flames and light surged forth like a cross of judgment!

All eyes were drawn to the spell, which could only be described as magnificent and dazzling. Within the spell, Viviana slightly turned her head, looking towards the front row of the stands outside the arena. Hidden by the bright flames, she spoke softly but with unwavering determination to the fully armed man in the front row:

“I’m here, Mr. Roy.”

"See? I've become stronger. If you get defeated by me now, you'll have to listen to me."

However, the cheers around him were too loud and noisy, and Roy, who was already wearing a hat, could not possibly hear Viviana's whispered message to the audience across half the arena. He could only squint and guess what Viviana meant by looking at her unwavering face through his 5.2 vision behind his sunglasses.

You've become stronger, so do you want to challenge me again?

“Okay, I definitely won’t lose!” Roy said seriously.

PS: Someone in the comments suggested that Oripathy enhances physical abilities, because Kal'tsit commented that the Great Father had the strongest physique she had ever seen.

Is it possible that the strong one is not Oripathy, but Patriot?

Most Oripathy sufferers have difficulty even walking when it gets severe, and Rhodes Island operators are no exception. In the Shadow Sparks story collection, Night Smoke Cat suffered an Oripathy attack and almost collapsed several times. She couldn't even run and was ready to lie down and wait to die in the end. Only Wendigo like Big Daddy is a bit special, but it can't be used as an example.

Book 1: Chapter 88 Skadi: I'm not very good at talking (the truth)

"Platinum, is the preparation work complete?"

The voice on the phone made Platinum perk up and reply:

"The area around the Central Radio and Television Tower has been secured. The location of the main power furnace and its auxiliary power furnaces has been surrounded by our people. Spysters have been assigned to the core city command tower and the Business Federation building to monitor them at all times. The infiltration of Block 0 and the four-city connection is proceeding in an orderly manner. Everything will be ready before the finals begin."

The Great Meltdown in Four Cities: Hinterlea didn't yet know what this term meant or what it would bring to Kazimierz. But she knew that the fact that Xuan Tie was paying so much attention to it personally, and even specifically instructing her to keep it a secret, meant that this matter must be related to the "breaking free from shackles" plan that Xuan Tie had mentioned that day.

But even if the entire Great Knight Territory were to lose power for several hours, what would happen? It would only be a loss for the merchants. According to her investigation over this period, it was impossible to cut off the backup power supply controlled by the Commercial Federation. The longest the power outage in the Great Knight Territory would last would be a short hour. More likely, the backup power supply would start operating in just ten minutes.

Is it too nerve-wracking to complete a plan to get rid of the Business Federation without anyone noticing in just ten minutes?

Xuan Tie was unaware of Bai Jin's doubts, and even if she had, she probably wouldn't have said anything.

After all, this massive circuit breaker was, strictly speaking, just a simulation before the real plan began. They did have a meticulous plan to paralyze the city, but what would happen after the city was paralyzed, and how to act, they still needed time and opportunity to practice and prepare. Therefore, this "Fuse" operation came about.

After this operation, they will gather all the intelligence needed for the plan, and that seemingly insignificant move of "infiltrating Block Zero" will become a crucial move in the future, like a pawn crossing the river.

It's a pity that Roy's appearance came too early. If she had known he could cause such a stir and capture the attention of the Business Federation, she shouldn't have pushed Roy onto the stage so soon. Now, where is she going to find someone like that four years later when the plan is actually implemented? She can't exactly pray that the Radiant Knight will return like lightning, can she?

"Ugh."

Thinking of this, Selena couldn't help but sigh.

The old hunter, standing at the doorway and carrying a scaled beast in his hand, asked upon seeing this:

"What's troubling you so much, Selena?" He winked, feigning ignorance. "Roy again?"

Xiao Xuan Tie turned his head to the side, glanced at him, then turned back, too lazy to answer.

"I made the decision, and I'm not so weak as to regret it."

It was she who made the decision to bring Roy to the forefront. Once Roy officially became a person living in the sunlight, it became difficult for her to stand with him, unless one day she could also appear in Kazimierz in another identity.

But that would be at least four years later. Given Roy's current popularity in Kazimierz, and the knights surrounding him who are no less impressive than her in terms of status and appearance, how could she possibly expect Roy to wait for her for four long years without knowing anything about her?

Moreover, it was a plan with a 100% success rate. If it were her, she would never have just waited.

"You didn't go to see Roy?"

"No, I am Xuan Tie. It's enough for Xuan Tie to issue orders over the phone. We should meet as few times as possible."

"You," the old father shook his head helplessly, patting his daughter's shoulder, "that's where your stubbornness lies."

Well then, children and grandchildren have their own destinies. Since she has made up her mind, Old Xuan Tie will not say anything more.

"Let's get down to business. There's been some commotion in the countryside lately. A group of reckless bounty hunters seem to be searching for some treasure, and they're getting increasingly brazen. We're all too busy to help. Since you have nothing else to do, why don't you go take a trip there? It'll help you relax."

The talk of a treasure in Qazimir is not entirely unfounded. After the overthrow of the Pegasus King and the establishment of a republic in Qazimir, many royalist knights and nobles were purged. To prevent their property and treasures from falling into the hands of their former enemies, these nobles often built their own treasuries in secluded, remote areas, burying their treasures in the hope that one day they could use them to make a comeback.

Unfortunately, the Pegasus King failed to regain his throne, and the knightly nobility never recovered. Most of the treasure ended up in the hands of politicians and merchants. However, it cannot be ruled out that a small portion of the treasure remains buried deep beneath Kazimierz, which has spawned countless expeditions, bounty hunters, and treasure hunts.

The Unarmored Alliance isn't just the henchmen of the Federation focused on major cities; while monitoring the knights, they haven't forgotten their origins—the vast rural areas of Kazimir. However, they generally don't act directly to avoid giving the Federation any leverage. But this wave of bounty hunters has caused far too much of a stir.

Since neither Lapis Lazuli nor Platinum is available, let's just let Selena go out for a stroll and resolve the matter.

Xiao Xuan Tie pondered for a moment, then nodded slightly, neither refusing nor objecting, which was considered an acceptance of the decision.

She really should go out for a walk. Staying in the Grand Knight Territory all the time, she can see Roy everywhere, and her heart can never be at peace.

...........

“I’ve been feeling restless lately, Skadi.”

The old man, leaning on a cane, wearing a tattered cloak, and with a dark complexion, pursed his lips and said...

"I've been a middleman for decades, I've done all sorts of things, from murder to arson, but I've never felt so agitated. It's like I'm being watched. Do you have any leads?"

Before him stood a delicate, white-haired girl in a smart Agor-style special operations uniform, wearing a pointed, long-brimmed hood. Her expression was calm, and she answered her boss's question decisively without the slightest hesitation: "No."

"...Heh, that sounds like your answer." Old Jose was speechless for a moment, then shook his head in relief.

Skadi was a woman of few words, but the fact that she was now willing to answer his questions was proof that their relationship had become a little more familiar. He recalled when he first found Skadi, she would draw her sword as soon as she saw him, not even bothering to say a word.

Seeing old Jose's self-deprecating expression, Skadi opened her mouth, then chose to keep it closed.

She didn't know what to say.

Well, I don't know what to say in a physical sense. She really isn't good at talking, that's the truth.

As an Agor deep-sea hunter who has come ashore, she simply doesn't speak the language of the land. Although she's learned a few recently, she's only capable of carrying out simple tactical missions and answering questions like "yes" or "no," let alone offering comfort. She only knows one comforting phrase; she can't exactly just tell Old He "condolences," can she?

It's best to keep quiet. If anyone really targets them, it doesn't matter; she'll take action.

"Forget it, it might just be some boring premonition. Let's not talk about it. Skadi, I have a new request. Are you interested?"

Skadi turned around, her unfamiliar words making her tone sound incredibly distant: "What?"

Fortunately, old Jose was used to Skadi's "aloof and indifferent" way of speaking, and said directly, "About the treasure."

"Old José, Old José!"

The sudden call interrupted old Jose's words. The hunched old man frowned slightly, walked out of his bounty hunters' camp, and asked the familiar Wasteland Messenger at the entrance:

"what's up?"

"Someone is looking for you," the messenger said.

"Who?"

"Toran".

P.S.: My otitis media has flared up. It's very uncomfortable; I can't hear anything through my right ear, like there's a sheet of paper between the ear and the sound. But there's nothing I can do because I can't leave the school grounds, and there's no medicine available on campus.

Sigh, Chongqing reported 6500 new cases yesterday. I wonder when this will end. One bad thing after another keeps happening. There's not much we can do; I just hope everyone is doing well.

Volume 1: Chapter 89 Poor Mascot Girl

Skadi blinked in confusion. Who was Toran? A name she'd never heard of.

She disliked getting too involved with unfamiliar land people. They were always full of malice towards the outside world, constantly thinking about how to betray and plunder. Dealing with them was more troublesome than having Skadi cut them in half a thousand times.

Looking at the messenger who had returned with old José, he refused:

Can I not see you?

Old He was taken aback by the straightforward refusal, feeling somewhat embarrassed. He could only offer some words of advice:

"Toran is considered one of the more capable and well-known people in our bounty hunter line of work. If you want to find your lost friends, it will be easier with his help."

Although the battle that slayed the gods plunged Seaseed into silence, it also utterly destroyed the Deepsea Hunters. When Skadi, washed ashore, awoke on a rocky beach, besides the severed limbs of the dead Seaseed, there were no traces of her comrades. But Skadi never ceased her search for her missing teammates, even though they might all have perished.

The reason she joined the bounty hunter profession was not only because it was one of the few professions on this land that didn't care so much about who you were or where you came from, but also because bounty hunters' activities were unrestricted. For missions, they could even cross continents, and better information would increase her chances of finding teammates.

Hearing what old Jose said, Skadi had no reason to refuse, so she reluctantly nodded and asked:

"When, and where?"

Old José said the same thing to the messenger from the wasteland who came to deliver the message.

The messenger withdrew his scrutinizing gaze from Skadi and replied: