Ark Undead

"Under the pressure of the business alliance, you started all over again alone, wielding an unrepaired longsword and medium shield, fighting your way up from zero to the top of the rankings. Without any backing, you relied entirely on your own hard skills. Now your match recordings have become a common sword and shield knight textbook for all knights in the hands of the Knights Association."

At this point, Bloodthorn sighed.

"Honestly, besides you, I can't find any other opponents in Kazimierz. There's really no one else who can make an ordinary longsword and medium shield look amazing. The only time I fought you, there were two brilliant comebacks."

"Once, he abandoned defense to break through my sword encirclement with his longsword and traded injuries with me, forcing me to hold back and defend. Another time, he managed to seize an opportunity despite my incredible sword speed, using a shield swing to break his balance—a counter-attack technique never before heard of. And then there was that impressive forward shield slam, tsk tsk..."

Scout listened from the side, and he felt something was off.

Is this person praising the immortal or praising himself? Why does he seem so pretentious?

Even the Undead was somewhat confused; in his mind, Bloodthorn wasn't supposed to have this kind of personality...

"Oh, do you think my personality has become a bit strange? Your little apprentice said so too. Hey, actually I've always been like this, it's just that I was trying to maintain a knightly demeanor back then. Also, we weren't very familiar with each other back then, so I wasn't very comfortable with myself."

As he spoke, Bloodthorn grabbed a piece of meat roasting over the campfire, took a big bite, and cried out in pain from the heat while giving Mimi a thumbs up.

"This little girl's baking is absolutely amazing!"

Mimi turned her head and sat a little closer to the undead next to her; she really didn't want to talk to Bloodthorn.

The little girl leaned close to the undead and asked in a low voice.

Who is he?

“Subordinate to, Kazimir, Knights Guild, Bloodblade Knights, Bloodthorn.”

Out of respect for a warrior, the Undead still used the official name of Bloodthorn.

"It was back then, in Casimir, at the Special Championship, in Asia..."

"I'm the runner-up in this year's Casimir Major. Call me whatever you want, but I'm not as good as this guy next to you. He's really strong."

Bloodthorn overheard their conversation and, without a care, swallowed a bite of meat before speaking to Mimi.

"Also, Bloodthorn is actually my nickname, and I'm no longer with the Knights Association."

"You're leaving the Knights' Guild?"

The Undead reacted the most strongly to Bloodthorn's words.

"why?"

Bloodthorn shrugged, took another bite of meat, the not-yet-fully-cooked flesh, and the pink juice that dripped from it clung to the corner of his mouth, making him look like a fake blood demon who liked tomato juice.

After swallowing the meat, he wiped the juice from the corner of his mouth, licked his hand clean, and then said nonchalantly.

"I did say that I joined the Knights Association to fight, right? To find better opponents and beat more people, that's my goal. I was willing to participate in the Major because there were many strong players there."

“But after fighting you, fighting anyone else feels pointless. Everyone fights as if it's just a formality. I'm a lightly armored knight, so I have to fight medium and heavy armored knights from the sidelines, and I have to find their weaknesses.”

"Why can't I outlast a medium-armored knight and crush a heavy-armored knight head-on? Look at you, you're a perfect example. You, a medium-armored knight, can crush a heavy-armored knight head-on, and you can even outrun a light-armored knight like me in terms of agility and burst damage."

"That's so boring! There isn't a single decent knight in all of Kazimierz. All they have on their minds is money and popularity. If you ask me, your little apprentice will probably win the next championship. She's the person I've ever met who's most like you. And in another two years, her body will probably be developed enough to support her in battle."

When the topic came up, Scout couldn't help but ask a question.

"Have you met Melantha?"

"What? Who is Melantha?"

Bloodthorn, who was about to take another bite of meat, looked at Scout with some confusion.

Mimi's eyes suddenly sharpened; she sensed the stench of gossip.

As a loyal member of the Undead Legion, she naturally knew that the Undead had a young apprentice in Kazimierz, the second daughter of the Nearl family.

But she genuinely didn't know that the Undead had a disciple on Rhodes Island. She even knew who Melantha was; she had met the girl before when she was an assistant instructor helping Instructor Dobermann.

What?! Melantha is actually a disciple of the War Knights?!

No wonder his swordsmanship is so varied, flexible, and highly offensive.

But wait...

"Not Melantha?"

Scout glanced at the Undead; he had a feeling things weren't so simple.

Speaking of this, the Undying Man remembered it.

"You and I have a promise. To protect Maria."

This is a barrier left for Maria after the Undead left, and it's also a way for the Undead to ensure that the Unarmored Alliance and the Knights Guild wouldn't attack Maria, or at least protect her in critical moments.

But now that Bloodthorn has left Kazimierz, does that mean Maria is in danger?

"Come on, don't you know how outrageous your little apprentice is?!"

Bloodthorn was eating meat when the topic came up, and he found it strange, so he couldn't help but roll his eyes.

"Do you remember the sword you asked me to pass on to their family? It's the longsword you used to fight all the way. Even her aunt, that whip-blade knight, couldn't draw it, but your little knight could barely draw it six months ago."

Thinking of that sword, Bloodthorn felt a sharp pain in his chest. After all, he had been pierced by that sword once.

"That's not even the most outrageous thing. After you left, her aunt tried every means to make me fight with your little apprentice. At first, I could just grab some random things to deal with him. But until I retired and was about to leave, if I didn't take it a little seriously, she could actually put a hole in me."

At this point, Bloodthorn couldn't stop talking. He solemnly raised his right hand and made a fist in mid-air.

"And what kind of nonsense are you teaching her? Isn't her family's ancestral Originium Arts supposed to be about light? How come it can generate electricity now? I've seen you use that spear-like spell before!"

"Now, that little girl wears the sword you gave her every day. Apart from the steel rod she uses to spar with people in case she hurts anyone, she uses your Sun Knight Longsword for training."

The Undead was quite calm. Maria's talent was already at the genius level; he had known that when he taught her Miracles.

However, after learning that Maria had successfully used the Thunder Spear, the Undead still felt a strange emotion, a mixture of being moved and feeling sentimental.

Perhaps this is what it means to feel gratified.

To be honest, Maria's personality is very similar to Solar's. Even their experiences and goals are quite alike. Both are pursuing the sun in their hearts, constantly becoming stronger, and are very generous, kind, and selfless.

Perhaps the Undead saw a familiar shadow in Maria without even realizing it, which is why he agreed to his aunt Zofia's request to become Maria's teacher.

Moreover, both of them are equally talented.

But now Maria seems to have two, or even three, suns.

"So this is your reason for running away?"

"Why not?"

Bloodthorn took another bite of meat, his head buried, and muttered to himself.

"Even a little girl makes me feel threatened. I'm starting to realize how long it's been since I've gotten stronger. I'm not satisfied. If this continues, in no more than six months or a year, I'll be on par with your little apprentice without using Originium Arts."

This is quite in line with Bloodthorn's style. Everything he does is based on his own feelings, and the only constant core is that he wants to fight the strong and become stronger.

Realizing that he was slowly falling behind, Bloodthorn decisively chose to abandon his privileged environment, leave Kazimierz, and pursue a path that would make him stronger.

He was unwilling to one day be unable to defeat even the disciples of the Undead. After all, his goal was to defeat the War Knights.

Although he himself felt that this goal was unlikely, one must have a goal in life.

"After what you did in the Business Alliance, the Knights Association is paying close attention to your disciple. After all, he is a descendant of the Lightbringer family. Even if he participates in the war as an independent knight like you, he can still have some connection with the Knights Association."

"She also has the hope of suppressing the Commercial Alliance. So even without me, there will be other knights to protect her. I heard that the Knights Association recently sent a few infected knights to try to make contact with your disciple."

Bloodthorn frowned slightly as he finished speaking.

"Hmm... I can't remember their names, but there were a few little squirrels. Their personalities are somewhat similar to your little disciple's, but unfortunately, they're incredibly weak. Your disciple could take on two or three of them by himself."

The immortal nodded slightly, indicating that he accepted this reason.

He made the deal with Bloodthorn for Maria's sake. Now that he's completed his mission, Maria has grown stronger, and with the Knights' Guild overseeing things, there shouldn't be any problems.

Mimi glanced at the Bloodthorn, then at the Undead, looking back and forth.

She then remembered that before the Undead obtained the title of War Knight, their last battle was against this knight named Bloodthorn. That battle was hailed as a textbook example of a medium-armored knight versus a light-armored knight.

Both Bloodthorn and War Knight performed exceptionally well, delivering spectacular performances.

Unfortunately, Mimi used to really like Bloodthorn, who had a gentlemanly style and would wait for the undead.

Why are you acting like an idiot now?!

I wonder what Bloodthorn's fans will think after seeing him now.

"Alright! We're finished eating!"

Bloodthorn swallowed the roasted meat in a few bites, casually wiping his mouth with his sleeve. He then dried his hands on his dirty clothes before looking at the Undead.

He drew the two long swords from his waist.

Scout and Mimi instantly went on alert. One of them gripped the short knife behind him, while the other took two steps back, ready to support Scout at any moment.

This is the tacit understanding they developed in squad combat.

"What's wrong? Why are you so nervous?"

Bloodthorn was momentarily stunned.

"I'm not going to fight with you two."

He then looked at the undead and said provocatively.

"Hey! Have you gone mad from playing around? What were the terms of our deal again? Forgot?"

The immortal thought for a moment, then suddenly realized.

"Oh, I almost forgot."

"You really forgot?!"

Bloodthorn was so angry he gritted his teeth. Was he really that weak? Could he even forget his promise to fight him?

The Undead asked Bloodthorn to protect Maria, and the deal was that the two would fight each other when they met again.

Just as the Undead were about to stand up, pick up the greatsword on his back, and teach Bloodthorn a lesson, Scout stopped them.

"Wait a minute, now is not the time to fight."

Scout reached out and stopped the Undead from grasping the greatsword on his back, then spoke to Bloodthorn beside him.

"We're in some trouble right now. Could you postpone the fight until things are resolved?"

Scout then showed the Undead his personal terminal.

"It's already past 5:40. We only have ten minutes of communication time at 6:00. Let's figure out how to get into the city first, okay?"