Uncle here isn't your average office worker!

To ensure everything went smoothly, Roy even took the time to call Xuan Tie's private number, hoping the Unarmored Alliance could assist Marna underground. The neutral electronic voice on the other end of the line didn't ask why, but simply agreed to Roy's request with trust.

After making all the preparations, Roy and Margaret returned to Drips Village, where Skadi had been waiting for them.

Upon seeing Roy, she stared at him with a slightly resentful look for a long time before slowly saying:

Why have you been gone for so long?

Is it a long time? Including the day of receiving the Grand Knight's Medal, it's probably been more than half a month, right? It is indeed quite a long time.

Roy's awkward apology:

"Sorry, something came up. Have you found the treasure's location yet?"

Skadi nodded, turned around, and led Roy and Margaret toward the familiar cave.

This is the place she finally discovered after digging three feet into the ground around the village (physically speaking). It's also the only place that seems to match Roy's description of the buried treasure.

As soon as Roy stepped into the cave entrance, he felt a surge of energy coursing through his veins. It was the reaction of the [Last Knight] module, reminding Roy that this place, "it" had been before.

Roy took a deep breath, nodded, and looked at the damp and gloomy cave, affirming:

"Yes, this is it."

Feeling the surge of blood within him, Roy suddenly had a guess.

Perhaps, the cavalryman and the hunter do not refer to the protagonists of the story, Pony and Skadi, but rather to the Last Knight and the Deepsea Hunter?

If that were truly the case, who could have imagined it? A treasure hunt in a border village of Kazimir, a group of bounty hunters and a mounted policeman, are all connected to a Sealing cavalryman who has lost his mind and roars that he wants to "kill the sea," a group of Deepsea hunters who are willing to risk their lives to drive out the Sealings, and the future fate of the entire Terra.

Perhaps this is a cruel and absurd joke that fate has played on us?

Roy thought:

If that's the case, then shut him up.

Volume 1: Chapter 171 How Well Do You Want It?

Kazimir, Drip Village, inside a cave.

The cave was clearly formed naturally. Even though the interior had undergone some artificial modifications, it still exuded a wild atmosphere. As soon as Skadi cleared away the boulder blocking their way, the stench of dampness and moss inside made Roy and Margaret frown and take a step back.

But Skadi didn't seem to care about the smell. During her battles against the Sea Kings in Agor, almost every fight resulted in rivers of blood; she was used to the pungent stench of blood, let alone this slightly unpleasant odor. She waved to Roy and took a step forward, but was stopped by Margaret behind her.

Margaret took out several small black cylindrical objects from her pocket and distributed them to Roy and Skadi, demonstrating how to insert the small units into their nostrils, explaining:

"This is a product of Rhodes Island, a recommended air purification device, mainly for operators to use when working in areas with low concentrations of Originium dust for short periods of time. If I'm not mistaken, there must be a large number of Originium bugs and Originium rock in this cave that has been sealed for many years. Just to be safe, it's best to bring it along."

Roy glanced at her with some surprise. Both he and Skadi possessed the bodies of Originium Heirs, and with their current physical strength, low-intensity Originium environments no longer affected them; in fact, they even helped them adapt to Originium. He was simply surprised that Margaret was so thoughtful, always carrying something like this on her person.

After all, according to her, her return to Kazimierz was not for a mission, but a special leave to "visit relatives." There wouldn't be any Originium environment within the Great Knight Territory, and even if there were, Margaret wouldn't be able to get involved.

Is this what they mean by having a tiger in one's heart but a rose in one's hand? This did change Roy's opinion of Margaret somewhat.

Indeed, the few hundred words in the archives are not enough to show a three-dimensional person. For example, the events and changes that Margaret experienced during her exile and her journey as an apostle following the Nightingale of the Shining were not mentioned in the archives.

This actually makes her seem less like a virtuous and righteous protagonist and more like a real person.

"Thank you."

Although he didn't need it, Roy still took the filter from Margaret and obediently put it on his nose. Skadi, seeing Roy do this, didn't ask any questions and put it on as well. The three of them entered the cave one after the other.

Just as Margaret had predicted, the cave was teeming with active Originium worms—on the ground, on the walls, and in the shadows. Judging from the patterns on their bodies and the bulging sacs on their backs, Margaret clicked her tongue in amazement.

"Acidic Originium Bugs, High-Energy Originium Bugs, Hard-Shelled Originium Bugs, Rock Crabs, and a large number of basic infected organisms. It will take at least a few days to thoroughly clean this place."

She turned to Roy and suggested:

"Um, Knight Heng..."

“Just call me Roy, we might even be colleagues in the future.” Roy waved his hand, indicating that Margaret didn’t need to be so formal. Margaret pursed her lips, avoiding Roy’s gaze, and stubbornly changed her address:

“Mr. Roy, I suggest you seek help from the Originium Bug extermination organization in Kazimierz, or simply hire a group of bounty hunters to help you. Otherwise, the workload is too much for just the three of us.”

While individual Originium Bugs aren't significantly stronger than slimes, once they swarm or even become a massive insect mass, the problem becomes enormous. The fact that high-energy Originium Bugs explode when attacked, combined with the corrosive toxins of acid Originium Bugs, makes the cleanup operation incredibly difficult.

After all, nobody wants to be seriously injured in the middle of a fight, with their equipment and clothes corroded and left completely naked.

Of course, the main reason why most women dislike Originium Bugs is their rather unattractive appearance and the slimy, tentacle-like feel of them crawling on their skin. However, some enthusiasts breed Originium Bugs as pets.

Margaret swore that she was not afraid of bugs at all, but was simply concerned for Roy and Skadi's safety.

Roy shook his head indifferently, gestured with his chin toward Skadi, who had already removed her sword from her back not far away, and said, "It doesn't matter, she'll make a move."

Skadi with a weapon in her hand and Skadi without a weapon are two completely different concepts. If she is just an extremely strong and powerful woman when she is unarmed, then she is a true deep-sea hunter who can roam the ocean and split mountains with a single sword when she is wielding a heavy sword.

What is the Deep Sea Hunter's most proficient fighting style?

The answer is a group fight!

Raising her greatsword, Skadi's previously languid demeanor vanished instantly. Her crimson pupils reflected the shadows of every Originium Bug lurking in the cave. Taking a deep breath, she suddenly propelled herself forward, leaping into the air to Margaret's astonishment. She crashed down with a thud, almost reaching the top of the cave, the greatsword striking the ground with a deafening roar, followed by an earthquake and billowing dust!

The Originium Bugs, which had been hiding in the shadows and preparing to strike, instinctively surged out of their hiding places after this attack. Thousands of Originium Bugs seemed to crawl out from various rock crevices, under rocks, and pools of water, scurrying around in all directions, with many rushing directly towards Skadi.

Margaret forced herself to recover from the shock, drew her warhammer, and was about to rush forward to help. But a second later, a snap of fingers rang in her ears, and a brilliant bolt of lightning had already struck the Originium worms before she could react. The dazzling light turned Margaret's profile golden, simultaneously striking a whole swarm of Originium worms in the distance. Before Margaret could react, the lightning suddenly split into countless beams, spreading out like a giant spider web across the entire swarm of Originium worms. Any Originium worm that came into contact with the electric net stopped in its tracks, its body trembling. After a short while, its carapace turned completely red, even emitting a faint aroma of flesh.

Margaret stared blankly at the scene for a long while before turning her head as if waking from a dream and looking at Roy beside her. She saw that Roy's fingertips were wrapped with streaks of lightning, like obedient little snakes winding and coiling between his fingers, doing whatever he wanted.

[Thunder Magic]

This was Margaret's first reaction. Although it was just about killing fragile infected creatures like Originium Bugs with electricity, the fact that it could release lightning over such a huge area in an instant reminded her of the legendary "Lightning Magic" of Yan Kingdom, which was never passed down to outsiders.

However, while lightning magic still requires the aid of talismans and formations, Roy's lightning can be done in the blink of an eye.

Who knows how powerful this lightning bolt truly is? If it's strong enough to penetrate armor and kill a human, and the casting speed is still only a blink of an eye, then Roy's strength might truly be considered at the level of a [Witch King].

Noticing Margaret's shocked yet thoughtful expression, Roy withdrew the lightning crackling at his fingertips, forced a mysterious smile, and changed the subject:

How well-done would you like it?

It's not his fault. He just wanted to show off and test how powerful his upgraded Alien module really was, but he almost accidentally revealed his true colors.

As he had envisioned, the lightning he unleashed should have descended from the sky like a divine punishment, resembling a radiant shard. These Originium worms were supposed to be reduced to ashes in an instant by this lightning. However, he didn't expect that the power would be insufficient halfway through. Not only did they not vanish in the blink of an eye, but Roy had to endure the power for quite some time before finally managing to roast these Originium worms to about half-cooked. They might even still have traces of blood when cut open.

If Margaret finds out, his life as a great knight-errant will be over.

Fortunately, at this moment, Skadi came in handy. She completely ignored the Originium Bugs on the ground, which were charred to the bone and half-cooked, and walked to the deepest part of the cave. With a single strike, she smashed down the treasure buried in the cenotaph, and the treasure finally saw the light of day again.

Roy felt an unprecedented surge of excitement (physical).

P.S.: Oh my god, I forgot to bring a charger when I went back to school, now my phone is a brick.

Volume 1: Chapter 172 Second Projection

The sea is roaring.

The gray sky was shrouded in a layer of mist, and endless waves rolled forward as if without end. The deafening yet monotonous roar of the surging tides echoed forever in my ears. On the lifeless sea, a knight rode his unacknowledged warhorse in a frenzied charge.

His figure appears wherever the waves surge, and he lends a helping hand when each wave crashes. He races endlessly across the empty sea like a wild beast that has lost its mind, constantly releasing his excess energy until the giant waves subside completely or he dies from exhaustion.

The Last Knight, as described in Casimir's most famous chivalric romance, was a noble warrior who, after dedicating his life to the peace of his homeland, resolutely embarked on a journey to a foreign land to defend humanity's soil from an unknown enemy. His name is lost to history, and he himself did not care; only his squire, who brought back his spoils from foreign soil, served as proof of the hero's sacrifice and greatness.

The novel is adapted from the legend of Kazimierz, and legends are often based on real historical events.

As Roy watched Skadi retrieve the crimson, diamond-shaped "key" from the ancient sarcophagus, every cell in his body began to surge uncontrollably, as if an endless power was gushing forth, suddenly dragging him into this illusion.

He stood on the sea, the waves rising and falling with a thunderous roar. The salty sea breeze, carrying a biting chill, swept over him, and the deep blue water soaked Roy's clothes almost instantly. He snapped back to reality, just realizing that the scene before him looked somewhat familiar, when in the next second, a dark figure blocked the indistinguishable day and night sky above him.

"land!"

Roy realized almost instantly that this was the projection he had seen when his Lone Rider mod evolved into the Last Knight mod.

At the end of that projection, he encountered the last knight in the vast ocean, if he wasn't mistaken...

Roy turned around abruptly, facing the spray of water that was like a sudden downpour as the waves crashed against him by the spears, and he saw the figure moving forward.

The last knight leaped into the air, still clad in his deep blue full-body armor, which didn't even reveal a sliver of his face. He still exuded a terrifying aura of rejection, still rode the sea steed that had mutated into a monster, or rather, was a monster to begin with. But this time, he was no longer silent, and neither was the world. The ocean roared, responding to the last knight's provocation. Towering waves rose again, seemingly teeming with countless shadows, crashing down upon the charging knight like divine punishment, a calamity befalling this rebel who, though dwelling in the sea, cried out against the land.

"boom!"

Another deafening roar followed, and Roy's mind was filled with a buzzing sound. The spray of water hitting his face made it almost impossible for him to open his eyes, but he still forced himself to look forward.

He remembered this scene; it was the same scene he had seen when the last projection ended.

The last knight broke through the first giant wave, followed by the second and the third. Behind those waves was a beastly figure, majestic like a god yet utterly blasphemous.

Last time, his projection came to an abrupt end here, but this time, since he has seen the aftermath of this scene again with the help of that crimson key, Roy absolutely cannot miss this opportunity.

"Sea, kill the sea!" the last knight roared, his distorted cry drowning out the thunderous roar of the surging tide. He raised his simple, unadorned spear high, without any technique or Originium Arts, and thrust it straight into the wave. And the giant wave shattered in response!

Roy could hardly believe his eyes. It wasn't a piercing, but a shattering. The wave was like a porcelain vase hit by a bullet, exploding instantly at the point where the spear met the wave, splashing water everywhere. Roy wanted to use the adjective "shattered to pieces" to describe it, because the wave seemed to have hit not the last knight, but crashed into the earth.

The waves burst open, but what sprayed out was not all seawater; there was also foul-smelling blood that stained the seawater red. These were the terrifying fish hidden in the waves. They were swept up by the waves, using their keratinized skin and even their own bodies as a barrier, hoping to block the final knight's charge. But as Roy had seen, their destruction was even faster than the waves dispersed.

And at this moment, the figure hidden behind the waves finally revealed its true form—

"Roy!"

With a muffled thud, as if a giant wave had struck Roy directly on the head, Roy felt a sharp pain and a wave of dizziness. The illusion before his eyes dissipated like a mirage, revealing the worried face of the person in front of him.

Skadi put down her greatsword, reached out and ruffled Roy's hair, seemingly afraid that she might use too much force and end up making him mentally impaired instead of waking him up. But after only a couple of strokes, she noticed the meaningful look in Roy's eyes.

"Don't blame Miss Skadi, I was the one who made her do it."

Margaret's voice came from behind, a warhammer in her hand, as she explained to Roy:

“Just now, after Miss Skadi took out that rhomboid object, you suddenly froze and didn’t move, as if you were possessed. I called you and you didn’t respond. I even hit you with a hammer and you didn’t respond. I had no choice but to have Miss Skadi use stronger stimulation methods.”