Uncle here isn't your average office worker!

Tonight's unexpected turn of events had exceeded Charné's expectations, and even the usually mild-mannered Charné couldn't help but swear. Judging from the current situation, Marner and Russell probably didn't have the energy to explain the blackout to him. After a moment's thought, Charné pulled out his phone, opened the camera, and pressed the shutter button towards the battlefield.

It's a common problem for modern people that they can't help but take a couple of pictures when they see a lively scene, let alone the rare sight of two masters from Kazimierz battling a mysterious man. Once the power is restored and the video is uploaded online, it will undoubtedly be an explosive topic.

Of course, Charnard wasn't completely idle. The board members had sent him here, so he had to give them an explanation. He wouldn't dare venture into the war zone now; who knows, tomorrow's headlines might be about the spokesperson dying in an unknown area-of-effect attack? But he needed to leave some evidence to prove he'd been there and had found some clues about the blackout.

These photos and videos were what he was supposed to hand over.

Watching the mysterious girl who was already fighting and retreating, and Marna who was trying to give chase, Charner frowned, his gaze fixed on the wide-open doors of the Supervisory Council building, and a bold idea came to his mind.

Meanwhile, Skadi was already planning to retreat.

The surrounding lights had gone out, indicating that Roy's plan had been successful. Although there had been a slight mishap, she had ultimately accomplished her task of stalling Marna.

The next step was a quick retreat, which she was good at, but shaking off Marna was not an easy task.

Marner and Russell had clearly noticed the power outage, but unlike Russell, he didn't seem to care much about the potential consequences. He continued his attack even as Russell was about to stop and return to the board of supervisors to check on the situation.

This ranger from Kazimierz was incredibly strong. In Skadi's eyes, while he couldn't match her captain Ulpian in strength or the second captain Goredia in speed, he far surpassed any land dweller she had encountered in recent times. Even among the Deepsea Hunters, he would certainly be among the top tier. And he hadn't even undergone Agor's physical modifications; he had reached his current level purely through his own training and what land dwellers called "Originium Arts," which was truly astonishing. If the circumstances weren't exceptional, she would have loved to talk to Mannard about how he had raised his strength to such a level.

Unfortunately, it wasn't the right time. Time wouldn't allow her to delay; she had more important things to do, such as searching for other deep-sea hunters who might still be alive.

"Excuse me, could you let me go?"

"Skadi whispered. Marna sneered. Now that things have come to this, you want to leave? There's no such thing as a free lunch."

The blade in her hand shone brightly once more, and Manna slashed out a beam of light, heading straight for Skadi's heavy iron sword. Skadi immediately raised her sword to try and block, but this time, the moment the sword touched the light blade, a crisp sound rang in Skadi's ears.

"Click."

A clear crack appeared where the Xuan Tie Heavy Sword had come into contact with the blade of light. Then, like a breached dam, light poured in like a flood, instantly widening the gap into a crack that ran through the entire blade! The next second, before Skadi could react, the Xuan Tie Heavy Sword was severed in half, and the blade of light that pierced through struck her directly in the chest, sending her flying backward and crashing into the street in the distance.

"Well!"

Although the attack had been weakened by the parry of the Xuan Tie Heavy Sword, Skadi still felt a metallic taste in her throat when struck directly by the light blade. Fortunately, she managed to swallow the blood and quickly stood up, with only the hilt of the broken sword in her hand.

Weapons on land are so fragile.

This was the first time she had encountered a situation where someone was injured because their weapon couldn't withstand prolonged attacks. Skadi muttered a complaint in her heart and looked at the sewer manhole cover in the darkness beside her.

It seems there's no need to continue fighting; this place could potentially serve as an escape route.

.........

The final match of the Kazimierz Knights Tournament Special Championship.

The sea of ​​blood had vanished, and Blood Knight Dikeopolis collapsed to the ground, his limbs spread out in a stark shape, his eyes wide open as he gazed at the sky above, looking utterly incredulous.

What was unbelievable was not his own defeat, but that brief moment just now—the magnificent sight of the knight riding a celestial horse descending from the sky.

He wasn't from Casimir, but as a warrior from Minos, he valued those legends and myths more than anyone else. The sight of a warrior riding a winged horse, such a legendary scene, appearing before him in reality, already made him feel completely convinced.

Gazing up at the starry sky above the arena, he was momentarily disoriented. In the old Kazimierz, such a sky full of stars would have been impossible; the neon lights of the city had long since obscured their brilliance. Was what he was seeing now merely an illusion?

"Phew, looks like they succeeded."

Roy's voice came from beside him, sounding relieved. The sudden appearance of Rocinante had really startled him. He had never ridden a horse in his entire life, let alone been a horse in his entire life. The feeling of being suddenly pulled down from the sky was more thrilling than a roller coaster.

Even roller coasters have seat belts.

"Are you OK."

Seeing the Blood Knight turn his head towards him, Roy sighed helplessly, smiled, and extended his hand to him.

"Can you still stand up?"

“Not quite, I’m waiting for a stretcher, sir.” DiCaepolis shook his head with a smile. “You really managed to keep it a secret.”

Roy knew exactly what he meant, scratched his head, and said, "Everyone has their own reasons. Just like you, aren't you working so hard for your fellow infected people?"

DiCaepolis paused, seemingly surprised that Roy knew, but then quickly realized—if Roy knew he could be caught in Block 0, how could he not know the purpose of his participation?

Thinking of this, Dichaopolis couldn't help but ask curiously, "And what about you? What is your purpose? Is it really for Miss Radiant Knight?"

"No!" Roy shook his head, exasperated.

If he had any ulterior motives, wouldn't the boss's task count?

But saying something like that now would be a bit tactless, so Roy carefully considered his words and said:

"Because of someone's dream (my boss wants me to do this)."

Dikeopolis's eyebrows twitched, he rolled his eyes, and couldn't help but think to himself, "Isn't this all for the sake of the Radiant Knight?"

People these days are so thin-skinned. Why don't you just be more direct?

Normally, he would have given Roy, his friend whom he'd only met through a misunderstanding, a lecture on Happy Buffalo's views on love, but now, he was practically breathless and in no mood for it, so he simply changed the subject:

"I think I'm hallucinating. I actually saw the stars of my homeland in Kazimierz."

"Oh, this isn't an illusion. The entire city of Kazimierz is without power right now." Roy said these terrifying words calmly, startling the Blood Knight so much that he immediately turned his head away.

"What? Why? Who did it?"

Roy gave him a meaningful smile.

"You boy!"

Volume 1: Chapter 112 Kid, You're on the Pirate Ship

"The power is out."

Having anticipated this, Hinterlea opened her eyes, which she had closed beforehand. As her eyes gradually adjusted to the darkness, she turned her head and looked at Monique beside her.

Of the lapis lazuli, only Monique was unaware of the truth, but faced with this unexpected situation, she still reacted quickly and rationally. She immediately locked eyes with Hinterlea, and after confirming their safety, she turned to the somewhat bewildered Viviana and offered words of comfort:

"Don't worry, Miss Candle Knight, we're all here."

"Hey, who are you?"

Monique twitched the corner of her mouth and reminded him, "That day at the souvenir shop..."

Viviana suddenly realized: "Oh, it's you, the very bold Roy fan!"

Viviana still vividly remembered the gesture of buying souvenirs for Monique that day, and she also had a good impression of Monique. Upon hearing this, she lit a candle, the soft light illuminating their faces. However, Monique's expression didn't seem particularly happy.

Monique's forehead veins throbbed. What did she mean by a daring Roy fan? When had she become that guy's fan? He was stealing the show on stage, while Monique got absolutely nothing in return, and even had to do extra work for him. Even with Little Platinum helping out, it was still unpaid labor. What's more, in this situation, with darkness falling and her completely clueless, and Roy still on stage, who could she consult?

Oh wait, there's also Cintel.

Monique glanced back at Hinterea's spot, and what she saw made her even more upset. Hinterea was nowhere to be seen. After exchanging a glance with Monique, Hinterea assumed Monique had been informed of the plan and turned to slip away under the cover of darkness.

Now she's all alone.

A former reservist from Victoria, who had never been treated so humiliated, immediately tried to find an excuse to slip away. But before she could even leave her seat, Viviana reached out and grabbed her, reminding her with concern:

"Don't wander around. The whole city is without power for some unknown reason. Running around now could be dangerous. You should stay with me. I have light here, which can at least illuminate the surroundings."

His words were sincere and his reasons were sound. Monique couldn't find a reason to refuse. Forcibly leaving would seem suspicious, so she could only smile awkwardly, unsure whether to break free or not.

On the other side, Roy's retreat was much easier.

After seeing Roy's meaningful smile, DiCeopolis could only helplessly close his eyes. He didn't know what Roy was planning, but out of trust in Roy, he decisively chose to pretend he hadn't seen anything.

Anyway, the sea of ​​blood had already exhausted his strength, and he didn't have the ability to stop him now, so he might as well let Roy do it, which would be a way of repaying the favor he had done by turning a blind eye to his participation in the preliminary round.

As for what happens if something goes wrong, and the business association or anyone else investigates and asks him questions, he's not afraid.

I was already dizzy at the time. There was nothing I could do. After being overloaded by the sea of ​​blood, I couldn't take it anymore. I was also an infected person. Isn't it normal to faint from exhaustion? I didn't see anything. Even if you asked a thousand times, you still wouldn't see anything. What's there to doubt?

Before the competition, he had to keep an eye on the Business Federation's attitude and suppress his temper in order to win the championship. Now that the competition is over, there was no dirty trickery, and he even received help. He lost fair and square and has no regrets. At this moment, he doesn't dare to speak with any toughness, or he will suffocate himself!

Without the Blood Knight, the most likely traitor, to betray him, it was too easy for Roy to sneak out. The stadium's security had already fallen into chaos during the city-wide power outage. These city dwellers, who had never been used to this darkness that felt like being lost in a forest, easily bypassed the surveillance and headed straight for the Supervisory Council.

He had to go and meet Skadi; ​​this was the part of the whole plan he was most worried about.

On the side of the Supervisory Council, next to the central square.

Grand Knight Russell did not pursue Skadi with Marna. Instead, he turned around, looked at the Chaos Council building behind him, which was in a complete mess, and stood guard at the main entrance with his sword.

Xuan Tie vanished after firing only one sword strike, and the entire city was plunged into a power outage crisis. How could a sharp-minded person like the Grand Knight Commander not realize that that sword strike was merely a ploy to lure him away?

At this very moment, Xuan Tie must still be inside the Jianzheng Association building.

His thoughts raced, but Russell steadied himself, pondered for a moment, and then said something unexpected: "I know you're in there. Come out, we can still talk."

"I know you're in there. Come out, we can still talk."

"Did you hear that, young man? That Grand Knight Commander isn't as easy to deal with as you think."

Wearing a straw hat and mask, dressed like an old hunter, Xuan Tie, though aged, was not at all hunched or weak. On the contrary, he was upright and full of energy. He looked at Charne, who was dressed in a suit and leather shoes, and said with a smile.

The voice changer made his voice sound somewhat comical, but Charne couldn't laugh at all. No one could possibly maintain a genuine, calm smile when such a pair of hawk-like eyes were firmly locked onto their vital points.

He roughly knew who the person in front of him was; his attire was exactly the same as the legends of the Unarmored Alliance, but Charne could not and dared not utter his name—Xuan Tie.

"What should I do? I wasn't planning on talking to her at all. She's a real pain. Logically, I should have just climbed over the wall or dug a tunnel to leave. But before I could do that, you sneaked in."

“I can pretend I didn’t see anything, and I won’t tell anyone that you were ever here,” Charne replied immediately, cold sweat already soaking his back. His nimble tongue seemed to be tied in knots, which did nothing to change his current helplessness.

Xuan Tie shook his head: "I don't care if you tell anyone. Anyway, after tonight, even if your superiors are stupid, they should be able to figure out what happened after sorting things out. This won't sway me, nor will it change your death."

Xuan Tie paused deliberately, seemingly observing Charne's reaction, and was somewhat surprised to see a hint of relief on the man's face.

He clearly felt that death was nothing to be afraid of, or rather, he had realized that it was fortunate that some more terrible things had not happened compared to death.

But Xuan Tie's next words made his heart jump into his throat again.

"But I think you don't have to die."