I want to be a faded person for life

Xiangzi shook his head.

"The only thing I can be sure of is that I know exactly who my parents are, and I'm not some princess of Kalia."

Se Lian laughed.

"That's true. But even if you were a member of the Kalia royal family—and even before that, you were my disciple—I wouldn't dislike my current disciple just because I hate the royal family. Origin and faith are two completely different things."

Chapter 8 You Fart

"Speaking of which, Melina."

Xiangzi rode on the spirit horse. She had put on a full set of the Lost Home Knight's armor that had been altered in size by Burke.

The helmet that originally only exposed the eyes was modified according to her needs. The mask and decorative white tassels were removed, revealing the part below the eyebrows to ensure a wider field of vision and smoother breathing.

"What are those two stones Blazer gave me? I think I found something similar on some soldiers' bodies before. Do people here have the habit of carrying stones with them? Are they some kind of amulets?"

Melina, sitting sideways on horseback, answered the latter question first.

"I don't have that habit."

"They are forging stones with special powers. Some special weapons have lost their original power over time. Skilled blacksmiths can use forging stones to restore them to their original state. The one you are using now is one of them."

Xiangzi pulled the reins again, and thinking of the stones that he had thrown away as garbage in the past, his eyes slowly narrowed and he revealed a polite and kind smile.

"So it's such a valuable item. I'll have to thank Blaze later...By the way, Melina, is there anything important you haven't told me?"

Melina thought for a moment, then turned her head away guiltily.

"No more... probably."

A vague voice came from a little distance above, and it sounded like someone was shouting for help.

"You said it was probably...was there any noise just now?"

Unable to find the tree species under the small golden tree in the fog forest, Xiangzi walked around it and all the way to the edge of the fog forest.

"—Is anyone there?"

When he could hear a little more clearly, Xiangzi raised his head and used his hands to block out the sunlight from the golden tree.

"Anyone who can help me, Kenneth Hyde, and who is willing to eliminate the unreasonable and maintain the right order!"

"Ah-Golden Tree, please bring your servants!"

The figure stood on top of a huge arched relic stone. Such relic stones are often more than ten meters high and are scattered throughout various areas of Nimgefu. It is difficult to tell what building they originally belonged to.

——Xiangzi felt that they were just like the fragments left after a castle in the sky collapsed.

The figure in the robe exaggeratedly opened his arms in the direction of the golden tree. His movements were so large that it seemed as if he was giving a speech without an audience. People couldn't help but worry that he would fall from that place.

Xiangzi slowly put down his hands and his expression became strange.

In a dangerous place like the border, being able to maintain such sufficient humanity and self-awareness seems to mean that this guy in front of me is not simple, but I always feel...

"...Who is this guy who seems to be performing an opera?"

Melina's expression was also a little strange, but she still answered Xiangzi's question.

"Kenneth Hyde."

Xiao Mu heard the guy's name clearly.

"That's not what I'm asking..."

In a sense, Melina does answer every question, but she only gives key supplements when asked.

"Hyde... seems to be the noble surname of Nimgerfu. The Hyde Fortress in the southeast of the Mist Forest is probably his castle."

At this time, the blond uncle on the ruins stone also noticed Xiangzi and Melina.

"Oh—the Lost Knight, why is he in a place like this? Was he sent by Greg to kill me?"

Before he could slowly get down from the ruins stone, Xiangzi had already used the ability of Torret to temporarily ignore gravity and jumped onto the top of the arch.

“…Oh, it appeared!”

"But look closely, um... isn't this a fader."

The blond uncle stopped moving. His luxurious purple robe was inevitably covered with dust. He patted the dust and stones that had rubbed against his legs.

"...No, even the faded ones are welcome."

He coughed twice and then adopted a slow, measured tone, as if he were rehearsing a play.

"No matter how noble your status, everyone can maintain the proper order."

"My name is Kenneth Hyde, the eldest son of Lord Nimgerfu."

"...Are you a limb-removing noble?"

Xiangzi put his hand on the weapon, but because the new weapon called "Hound Fang" was too long to be placed on the waist, the girl could only hang it on the saddle buckle.

"No, no, no—that's so rude. How could I be that kind of monster?"

"You are so wrong. I repeat, I am Kenneth Hyde, not Guinness. Moreover, Greg is not the lord of Nimgefu."

The blond uncle waved his hands vigorously, as if trying to dispel something smelly, and continued talking to himself.

"Here's a piece of advice for you: Be careful of Grek's Faded Hunters. They're hell-bent on capturing you Faded Ones and using you as sacrifices for the horrific [Limb Reattachment Ritual]."

"but..."

He changed his tone to a sarcastic one again.

"Greck's narrow-mindedness alone doesn't make him worthy of being called a king."

"After being defeated, he fled the royal city among a group of women. Fearing General Latarn, he hid in the city and dared not say a word."

Kenneth became more and more excited as he spoke, and even began to laugh uncontrollably.

"I underestimated Marlene, and ended up rolling on the ground after being beaten. I even knelt down and kissed her feet to show my submission - Malika is on top, Marlene is newly corrupted, I imagine that must have been quite exciting!"

"He's truly a weak, shameless man—except for the fact that he dared to kiss Marennia's feet. That's the only thing I admire about his courage."

He seemed to be finally satisfied and let out a long sigh.

"Even though he comes from a prominent family, it's clear that King Ge Fulei's bloodline has faded considerably—it's really sad when you think about it."

At this moment, Xiangzi's soul-calling bell suddenly vibrated rapidly.

Although she had no intention of using it, a spirit of ashes was summoned out on its own.

A soul with an angry face gradually took shape. Seeing this, Xiangzi, who was originally listening to gossip, couldn't help but cover his eyes with his hands.

"Uh...why am I still carrying this person's ashes with me?"

"You farted!"

Gotok's soul grabbed Kenneth Hyde's collar tightly.

Although Gotok himself hated his father extremely, insulting his father himself and listening to others insult him were two completely different concepts.

...After all, he was a filial son who had offered his arm in the hope of being used in the limb-replacement ceremony. It was not until he was scolded and belittled as "unworthy of being used for limb-replacement" that his original reverence turned into a distorted hatred.

"Gotok..."

"How did you become a spirit?"

Kenneth was startled at first, but felt relieved after seeing the other person's appearance clearly.

-

Hound Fangs

A large curved sword with a slightly undulating blade, the weapon of the Hound Knights.

Hound Riders are trained like hounds and are known as relentless trackers. They are said to choose their masters independently without verbal communication.

——Once you recognize your master, you will never betray him.

Exclusive combat skills: Hound combat skills.

Strength: D

Dexterity: C

Chapter 9 Rebels

"Tell me, what am I saying that's wrong? Greg's scandal has long been engraved on the sword monument. You and I were both present at the battle with Marennia. What are you trying to refute now?"

Kenneth struggled for a few times, but finally found that he had no strength to break free from Gotok, so he simply spread his hands out in despair.

Gotok did not refute him on these issues. He let go of his hand and let out a hoarse laugh.

"And what about you?"

"Graclaw mobilized the entire army to perform the limb transplant. He at least wanted to lead his subordinates back home with his own strength. Even if he looked like a clown, he fought bravely in front of his throne until the very end."

"But what about you?"

The tall and thin Gotok slowly straightened his hunched back. Even a tiny bit of Gefulei's blood made him much taller than Kenneth Hyde in front of him.

"The fortress was seized, and the rebels and demihumans were allowed to run rampant in their territory. I simply fled to a place like this."

Gatork seemed to know a lot of information. It seemed that Kenneth Hyde had sent a letter for help to Stonewell before, but Gatork, who was already busy with his own affairs at the time, did not have any extra manpower to help him quell the rebellion.

"You can't summon your men or request reinforcements—why not just do nothing and go around shouting like a clown rehearsing a play, begging Marika to come and send you some [Servant of the Golden Tree]?"

When Gotok said these words, he perfectly imitated Kenneth's accent, as if he had been secretly listening in the urn for a long time before being called by the spirit bell.

These words were sharp and the tone was sarcastic, which made Kenneth's face turn red.

But the registrar didn't stop talking, and continued with his sarcastic skills that were much higher than his actual ability.

"You pride yourself on your noble status, yet you place your hopes on... oh, on the Faded Ones, whom you despise."

"Oh, the legitimate son of the Lord of Nimgefu! Oh, the noble one blessed by the golden tree!"

Gotok also sang two lines in a strained voice like an opera, and then spat a mouthful of thick phlegm on the ground.

——God knows why the ashes spirit still has throat problems.

"How dare you belittle the bloodline of Ge Fulei? You deserve this fate, you slug!"

After saying this, his spirit dissipated with the wind with a look of joy on its face and returned directly to the urn.

The soul-calling bell that was ringing on its own also became quiet and there was no more movement.

——This was a complete escape attack, which did not give Kenneth any chance to retort or fight back. Even Xiangzi who was standing by was stunned.

“You…you…!”

Kenneth covered his chest, trembling all over, looking like he couldn't breathe.

He held onto the relic stone beside him and almost fell to the ground, making people fear that he would die here.

It took a long time for Kenneth to calm down and breathe normally.

After a few minutes, the blond uncle who was covering his chest spoke again, and his voice became weak.

"He's right...I did lose the fortress."

He fell silent again, as if he had extracted some unknown information from Gotok's words.

"But Greg is dead. I've been wandering and fleeing all this time... I didn't even know such a big thing had happened."

"You killed both Greg's bastard father and son, right?"

Xiangzi nodded without denying it.

"Sure enough, seeing that guy's ashes on you... I guessed it."

Kenneth sighed.

"That's remarkable! Gotok's guess was correct... I have something I want to entrust to you."

Xiangzi could probably guess what it was.

"Go south from here, through the mist forest, there is a fortress - that is my fortress, I hope you can help me take it back."

"It's all the fault of the Knight Commander sent by Stonewell. He's so dull, he's obsessed with blood... There aren't many people left in the fortress now. My men are all dead... Only the Knight Commander and the soldiers he brought with him are left. Everyone else has been bled dry."

His tone was no longer arrogant, and he finally started to speak properly.

"I won't ask you for help for nothing. Even though you've fallen into this state, I will pay you well."

"Don't underestimate me, Kenneth Hyde. I'm not stingy in this regard... As long as we can recapture the fortress, I promise to pay you a satisfactory reward."