Ark Undead

The range narrowed to just behind him, and the Undead's score remained stable at around tenth place.

If the Undead wants to consistently finish in the top sixteen in this competition, they will need to continue fighting in the arena.

At that very moment, a crossbow bolt shot out from the corner, heading straight for the side of the undead man wielding his sword.

His goal was not to kill, so the arrow was positioned at his waist, the main point of leverage, and to ensure it hit, it was even imbued with Originium Arts that could eliminate sound.

But an immortal is still an immortal. The instincts honed by countless battles make it impossible for the body to be harmed by petty villains.

He casually took a step forward, and an arrow grazed past his armor from behind; such a hit could hardly be considered a strike.

The undead looked in the direction from which the arrow came and saw a crossbowman hovering in the air.

The exhaust nozzles on his back slowed his descent, creating the illusion that he was hovering in the air.

Of the seven or eight medium-armored and heavy-armored knights remaining on the field, the crossbow knights deliberately chose the Undead.

The immortal looked at the man and took his own steps.

"Did you see that? That fight against two people just now."

At this moment, in the audience, Zofia was also explaining the match to Maria so that Maria could quickly absorb the skills that the undead had displayed in this battle.

"Block the incoming spear with your right hand, while preparing your left hand to absorb the impact, deflecting the weight of the opponent's greatsword so that your subsequent movements will be easier and you won't have to bear such a huge impact."

Zofia looked at the retreating undead, and as she spoke, she glanced at Maria.

Maria was also watching the undead in the arena intently, frantically absorbing the combat experience of the undead from their actions.

Maria had used a shield before, but after undergoing undead training, she never picked it up again.

According to the Undead, if you can't even use a sword properly, why use a shield? If all you can do is use a shield and cower in place, what's the point of having a sword?

A shield is meant to increase your margin for error in battle, not to stop timid people from moving forward.

The way the Undead fight also illustrates this point. Even the shield, a symbol of defense, becomes a weapon of attack in his hands.

Even in Maria's perception, for the undead, the shield was merely something that created opportunities for the sword to attack, and the undead had already mastered the use of the shield to an unparalleled degree.

"Then, with the shield in his left hand still protecting his vitals, he turned and struck the gap with his sword in his right hand. Even after taking the attack, the undead's desire to attack remained strong, and he could even accurately target the enemy's weaknesses."

As Zofia explained, she also exclaimed in amazement.

This is already the thirtieth minute.

Although battles between knights, in one-on-one situations where their strength is evenly matched, can generally last for several hours, and even a day and a night could pass if the audience is enthusiastically demanding it.

But in a chaotic battle that constantly drains energy and involves facing different attack methods, the Undead is the first person Zofia has ever seen who can remain calm and have such control of his body after half an hour.

When he drew his sword, there wasn't the slightest tremor. It was as if he had been sitting and resting for the past half hour, without engaging in any battle.

The truth is, the Undead have already sent three knights away while all the other knights were ignoring them. However, these knights didn't have high scores, which prevented the Undead's ranking from skyrocketing.

His goal has never been to compete for first place, but rather to consistently maintain a position in the top sixteen.

After all, only those who stand until the end deserve to be called champions.

“You don’t yet have the physical abilities of Mr. Undying. You need more training. That’s why Mr. Undying didn’t let you pick up the shield in your left hand until you mastered the sword in your right hand. It was to hone your swordsmanship and also to train your physical strength.”

Zofia patted Maria's head.

In fact, during her training period, Maria had thought countless times about what it would be like if she picked up the shield now.

But Maria kept her teacher's teachings in mind, and whenever she passed by the warehouse where the shields were stored, she would only take a look.

As for the technique he most coveted, it was the technique that Undead often used to attack with their left-hand shield.

Just as Maria was thinking this, the undead in the arena raised their shields in their left hands.

"Ah, here it comes!"

Maria was excited and shouted out.

"Undying Shield Bash!"

...

The sword blade in his right hand blocked the enemy's escape route, forcing the crossbowman to lunge to his right.

But the shield that followed blocked his path of lunge. Without experiencing a shield bash that doesn't kill, one cannot understand the terror of being hit head-on by a shield bash.

It felt like someone had hit my waist hard with a heavy hammer.

The undead's shield struck the crossbowman's waist, causing him to bend over like a cooked lobster. He flew several meters away, rolled two or three times on the ground, and then came to a stop.

"It's here! The Undead's signature move! Right hand sword locks onto the target, left hand shield is the real weapon! Undead Shield Bash! This is an attack method that sword and shield knights have never imagined before!"

Mob was also very excited. The excitement of today's match had exceeded his expectations, and Undead, as the most amazing player in the match, had left a deep impression on him.

"He's following without hesitation again! Is the Undead going to personally send another knight away?!"

After the Undead charged forward with his left-hand shield, he showed no sign of stopping. He took two more steps forward, raised his right arm, and thrust it straight at the enemy on the ground!

Having just endured such a powerful shield strike, the crossbowman knight was still in excruciating pain in his lower back and abdomen when he realized the undead were close by, and even breathing was difficult.

Seeing the sword blade thrusting towards him, the crossbowman had no choice but to instinctively raise his crossbow to try and defend himself!

But how can something like a crossbow stop the thrusts of an undead person?

The bowstring snapped after a brief period of pressure, piercing the material beneath it with the sharp sword tip. The knight, hiding behind the bow and crossbow, was fortunate enough to escape the attack.

But with his weapons destroyed, how could he possibly have the means to continue fighting?

Left with no other choice, the archer knight got up from the ground and darted away in a few steps from the circle of light that had shrunk in front of him.

Seeing the enemy retreat from the area, the Undead immediately sheathed his sword, stepped on the weapon stuck in the sword to pull it out, and then kicked it away along with the crossbowman. He then turned around and began fighting another enemy who was trying to launch a surprise attack from behind.

The archer knight outside picked up his weapon and sighed.

He failed to accumulate enough points in the first two rounds, which meant that even as a crossbow knight, he didn't have much of an advantage.

He had hoped to score some points in the chaos, but reality slapped him in the face.

It seems he will miss out on reaching the round of 16 in this year's Major.

That knight was indeed as strong as his name suggested.

The crossbowman chuckled and glanced at the leaderboard above his head. His name had disappeared from the leaderboard, which meant that he had left the arena.

But life goes on. His performance in the round of 32 has already served as several advertisements for himself. He should be inundated with business deals and contracts in the future.

The arena is like a battlefield, where competitive knights strive for higher rankings in order to gain more.

Whether it's profit or honor, as long as it's something a knight can obtain, there will always be people chasing after it. This is the essence of the Kazimierz Knights' Competition.

"Alright, alright, that's enough, let's eat!"

The old man chuckled as he turned off the TV and pulled Li, who had been sitting with him for almost the entire day, downstairs together.

"Huh? The match isn't over yet?"

Gravel paused for a moment, still captivated by the undead's machine-like, stable attacks and defenses. It was the first time she had ever seen such a powerful sword and shield knight; such skill was truly mesmerizing.

"Do we need to keep watching? We've come this far, how could he possibly lose?"

The old man's smile remained unchanged; to be precise, there wasn't a single moment today when he wasn't smiling.

"The top 16 are already a sure thing for him. What I wanted to see has already come to pass."

"Ah, well... okay."

Reluctantly, Li stood up from his seat and left the room with the old man.

The old man was still talking as we walked downstairs.

"His performance today has confirmed that he is one of the favorites to win the championship. Competing against these powerful knights, he can steadily suppress so many knights with his solid fundamentals. If it comes to the battlefield, he will definitely be the most dangerous soldier, without exception."

The old man raised his hand, extended one finger, and waved it in the air.

"However, the Knights Association has also produced a monster this year, and I heard that it has been training for a long time, specifically to counter the business alliance."

The old man gave a cold laugh and shook his head.

"True knights cannot be trained in the training ground. Without the honor and perseverance in one's heart, even the sharpest sword cannot defeat a weak enemy."

Li remained silent in the back. The old man always uttered these seemingly reasonable words, which were also words she needed to remember. So that when communicating with others, she could use the old man's words to intimidate them!

On the other side, Kos also stood up from the sofa, stretched, and stopped watching TV.

"Hiccup! Boss, aren't you going to watch anymore?"

Fran let out a burp; he'd eaten too many snacks today. But he couldn't skip dinner! He decided to save some room.

"I'm not watching anymore. I've seen enough of what's going to happen next."

Kos waved his hand, preparing to go into the kitchen to start preparing dinner.

"Hehe, cooking?"

Fran chuckled sheepishly and clapped his hands, which were covered in grease.

"Let's order takeout to celebrate."

Koss was clearly in a great mood; he had already turned on his mobile device and was ready to order food online.

However, as soon as he opened the terminal, Kos thought of something and looked at Fran.

"How's the banner I asked you to prepare coming along?"

"I've already spoken to the manufacturer! They said it's perfectly fine, but it will take two more days to get it out."

Fran, his eyes still glued to the television screen, spoke casually.

"They said there were too many people wanting to order banners, and many of them were for the old man, so our orders had to be put on the back of the queue."

"Wow? These little brats seem to be quite thoughtful."

Koss raised an eyebrow.

As the leader of the Undead Legion, Koss had always been concerned about the Undead's participation in the Major.

Now he's a complete fan leader. Kos mastered the production standards for those banners and support signs that only young people would make in just two or three days.

Even the support signs held by the fans at the scene today were made by Kos collectively.

Maria and Zofia probably never imagined that the support signs in their hands actually came from their manager, whom they had met a few times before.

That brand, brimming with girlish pink and an aura of adoration, was actually created by a man in his thirties!