Arknights, but the sickly pretty girl starts

Chapter 29: The Last Knight

The older generation of lighthouse workers used to be proud of being able to maintain this lighthouse located on the high hill.

The Eye of Iberia, a symbol of Iberia's conquest of the sea, stands atop a high hill, overlooking all life, providing guidance and illuminating the way for returning ships. Built using the technology of the Agorians, this lighthouse boasts a sophisticated structure and ingenious design, making it one of the few wonders in all of Terra. During Iberia's heyday, some called the Eye of Iberia one of Terra's wonders.

This lighthouse, which has shouldered too many responsibilities and too many honors, fell in the great silence, and the lighthouse workers who originally existed for this lighthouse were also far away from their dream home.

Becoming a worker of the Eye of Iberia is an honor and a home for lighthouse workers. These lighthouse workers dream of coming to this lighthouse, and it has become their obsession.

So they actively responded to the plan to retake the lighthouse, and even planned to build Granfalo into an outpost to retake the ocean, but their efforts failed. Not only that, on that night, the Punitive Army entered the town of Granfalo without any warning, and arrested all the islanders involved, that is, the Agor people. Anyone who resisted was killed on the spot, including Tiago's wife Marin.

The purge came so suddenly that the young Thiago could not accept it, but his wife Marin accepted the arrest very calmly and left with the Punitive Army and never returned.

until now--

Thiago still can't forget that rainy night, and the scene of his wife calmly sewing his clothes, telling him to eat less junk food, and then calmly following the Punitive Army out of the house and disappearing in the storm.

After that night, Tiago asked the court about Marin's whereabouts countless times, but all he got was silence. His countless letters of inquiry and his personal visits to the court to question her resulted in no answer.

He actually already understood what would happen to Marin. After all, the Agor people who were taken away that night never came back.

The plan to recapture the Eye of Iberia was shelved, as was the plan to build Granfalo into a recapture outpost. The lighthouse worker lost everything almost overnight: his wife, his career, and even his hope for the future.

He was later elected to become the mayor of Granfalo. After so many years, he still couldn't get over that rainy night.

He hated the Deep Sea Church, they were traitors to humanity, they were enemies of Iberia. But he also hated the Inquisition—

"Tell me, old man!" he roared in anger. "Tell me, Inquisitor. You must tell the truth, you vile executioner!"

He was full of energy, not like an old man in his twilight years. He clenched his hammer tightly, ready to strike the Inquisitor at any moment. "Why did you destroy a group of people who were filled with hope and rebuilding their homes that night?! You! Were there really any heretics from the Deep Sea Church among the Agor people the Inquisition took away from Granfalo?!"

"Tell me! Did you kill those good people out of ridiculous suspicion? Doubt?

Behind Tiago is the burning Granfalo. This city is destined to be destroyed, but the burning city is weird and twisted. This destruction is brought by humans and the Deep Sea Church. This small town is the abandoned child of the Deep Sea Church and their hostage. The Inquisition must take action.

"Ordinary citizens have no right to know the secrets of the Inquisition," Saint Carmen said, responding coldly. "Knowing the truth will not benefit your lingering life, Tiago."

"……you……!"

Indeed, although Thiago looked full of energy, the exaggerated penetrating wounds on his body showed that he was only in his last moments. Before coming here, he had killed an undercover agent of the Deep Sea Church with his bare hands, but unfortunately - he was no longer young, so he was pierced by the sea heir transformed from a believer. Although he managed to kill the opponent in the end, he was almost exhausted.

What drives him now is pure rage—

"I'm about to die, and you still won't confess!" Tiago pointed at the town. "I've done everything I could for this town! Doesn't it deserve the truth? At least! At least tell me! Marin! What exactly is she..."

"You've already had contact with the Deep Sea Cultists, right?" Saint Carmen stared at the man before her. "Before he revealed his true identity, did you sense his problem?"

"……you……"

"The Agor files of Granfalo have been sealed, and I can't tell it to you, a commoner." Carmen did not attack Tiago, although he had committed a serious crime - after the Inquisitor entered Granfalo, he should not have sheltered the townspeople and harbored the Deep Sea Cultists. He knew about it but did not report it. Not only did he make the Inquisition miss the opportunity, but he also gave the Deep Sea Cultists the opportunity to spread these strange creations throughout Granfalo.

This fire will consume all life—

Including those bluish-gray [mosses], no, now the official seems to have named it [Minghen].

Even if Thiago survives, he must stand trial. No matter what his reasons are, a sin is a sin, and this is the only consequence of breaking the law.

"...I...I curse you...I will never forgive you! Iberia...Iberia...will..."

His eyes had lost their luster. Even in death, he did not fall down. He was filled with anger towards the Inquisition, and this anger did not allow him to fall down. With his eyes wide open, he seemed to be still questioning Carmen.

"Why don't you tell him?" At this time, Kal'tsit also came to his side and asked.

"Of the over 130 Agorians taken from Granfalo, half were implicated in the Deep Sea Church. Even among the Punitive Forces previously stationed here, a number of traitors were uncovered. They stole a vast amount of data on the Iberian Age of Navigation, obstructed the Inquisition, and persistently plotted to turn Granfalo into a gateway for the sea to invade the land. Leading the charge was a female bishop, an Agorian islander known as 'Marin.'"

After saying this, Carmen looked at the man who hated the Inquisition until his death and said, "He already knew the truth and just needed confirmation. But sometimes—he actually didn't want to know the truth."

If that’s the case – why let a respectable old man despair before his death?

Carmen walked around the old man who was still standing and spoke.

"Just as my name is Iberia, his name is Granfalo. This city will be destroyed today—and he is the captain who must go down with the ship."

-

"We didn't expect it to be so smooth." In fact, the entire hill where the Eye of Iberia is located is already covered with porous structures of [reefs] composed of the secretions of sea snakes. However, under the bombardment of Gloretia, most of the sea snakes were disturbed like wasps and were led away by Gloretia. Then, with the help of Skadi and the ghost shark, the boat actually reached the shore smoothly. Although walking on the secretions of sea snakes was somewhat disgusting, the few people could only climb these things as much as possible to move forward.

Noah has given up her wheelchair, but fortunately she has gray matter to connect her nerves, allowing her to keep up with the main force.

"The bad news is this: since the Punishment Army discovered the remaining signal from the lighthouse, we have attempted to land here seventeen times, and eight of them have successfully landed on this reef. Hundreds of warriors, three Inquisitors, and no one has returned alive," Elini said. "Now, we have become the ninth team to successfully land—"

"So what? Did you have any deep-sea hunters in your previous team?" At that moment, Gladia had actually shaken off the pursuit of the Sea Heirs and returned to their ranks. "Let go of your experience. We're now on a journey unfinished by our predecessors. The only way to honor them is to complete this mission."

"...You're right." Elini was convinced. Indeed, instead of emphasizing the difficulties this time, what they needed was a resounding victory.

They didn't know that the Punishment Army was surrounded by the Abyss set up by the Deep Sea Church and could not get close to this area for the time being. They were facing a battle with almost no rescue.

But when Jody raised his head, he could see the shadow of that great creation. It was Iberia's eye, even though he was still asleep...

Several people climbed up the reef and finally arrived at the foot of the Eye of Iberia. They never thought that the Eye of Iberia would be such a tall building. There was a scaled-down sculpture of the Eye of Iberia in the town...but Elini thought that the scale of the sculpture must be wrong.

It is no wonder that Iberia was called a "miracle" that it was able to build such a huge thing.

"Me too. This is my first time seeing it." Dario looked up, marveling at the former glory of his homeland. The two lingered in the glories of Iberia's past until the deep-sea hunters discovered the dilapidated gate. Then, with a single kick, Gloria shattered the gate, which might have held cultural relic value, and beckoned them. "We should leave."

"What are you doing?!"

"Unless you want us to spend a lot of time unlocking it, this is the most efficient method," said Gladia without any guilt. "The nations on land have done their utmost to replicate Breogan's legacy. These so-called lighthouses are imitations of Agor technology. Once we contact Agor, we can definitely help you repair these things."

"...Miss Goletia is right, Elini, Dario, we need to keep moving forward, time is money." Noah had no choice but to use his command power to suppress the two angry Iberians.

Of course... After all, this lighthouse is a symbol of Iberia's glory. If someone kicked the family emblem of the Linguang family, Noah would probably be angry.

The two could only tolerate Godetia's behavior for the time being. After all, what she said was indeed correct, and this lighthouse was indeed built by Agor's technology.

Moreover, they soon no longer had the energy to worry about this, because Hai Si, who had been shaken off by Gloria, began to return to the nest.

Dario and Elini both drew their weapons, while the deep-sea hunters stared at the surging swarm of sea creatures with cold eyes. Noah quickly used his mace to lift up the dazed Jodi. "We need to quickly restore the effects of the Eye of Iberia. We must stop the sea creatures!"

"We can stop them!" Skadi nodded. "I'll leave it to you, Miss Noah."

"...I'd like to leave this sentence to Mr. Jodi..." Noah was helpless, mainly because the things here were Agor's technology. If it was an Originium creation, she could try to use the previous operation, but for Agor's technology...she really didn't have much room for operation.

Noah and Mace led Jody into the control room. Jody's eyes lit up when he saw the dashboard. Knowing time was running out, he pulled out his various notes and tried to figure out the functions of the instruments. No matter how many times he'd looked through his research notes, this was his first time actually handling these things. He could only verify and guess bit by bit, trying to deduce the operating methods. Noah and Mace stood guard at the door, ensuring Jody's safety as much as possible.

Noya didn't rush Jody, knowing that rushing would only lead to mistakes. The Punitive Force technicians hadn't arrived yet, and the signal had clearly been sent when they landed on the island. So, Jody was the only one capable of operating the lighthouse now... but luckily, she was brought aboard.

"Um... Miss Noya, Miss Mace, if you are worried about the others, you can go and help them. I am here for you."

"I can monitor the situation outside, so don't worry. If they're in danger, I'll go and support them immediately. But you don't need to worry about that right now. Just focus on solving the problem at hand."

Noya was constantly monitoring the situation outside. Although the number of sea creatures outside was terrifying, they rarely contained high-level units. Low-quality monster sea creatures would be easily defeated, and wouldn't even be able to break through Skadi's skin defenses. The lantern in the Inquisitor's hand also seemed to have the ability to restrain sea creatures. The situation outside wasn't as difficult as imagined.

But just as she finished speaking, she heard an ominous sound...

And this voice made her hair stand on end instantly——

Because she was very familiar with that voice...

—Kill the sea! Kill the sea! Kill the sea!

Is he the last knight? Why is he here?!

Noah knew that the last knight had a close connection with his family, and the reason why he appeared here... could it be that he was coming for him?

Noah had to think more about this. After all, she had just learned from Kal'tsit about the relationship between her family and the Last Knight, and the one who had contact with the Last Knight was Miss Ghost Shark, whose condition was still unstable.

And...isn't the last knight an enemy of Kaiji?

Why did he fight with Ghost Shark and others?

As the weapons collided, Ghost Shark realized that the opponent was no easy opponent. In the previous confrontation, he was even at a disadvantage.

——What exactly is the other party?

At this time, the knight in black armor looked up at the lighthouse.

—Giant waves...torrents...

Chapter 30: Sword and Lamp

"Damn, what the hell is this thing?" The Ghost Shark fought with the Last Knight for a few times, making the circular saw fly up and down, but it still failed to cause enough fatal damage to the Last Knight.

The last knight remained silent, using the spear in his hand to block all attacks one by one, as easily as driving away noisy insects.

"Calm down, ghost shark, it's not attacking you actively. It seems more like it's looking for something." Those who are involved are often confused, while those who are on the sidelines can see things more clearly. After observing for a long time, Gloria came to this conclusion. This last knight didn't seem like a high-level sea heir. He would even actively kill the sea heirs who dared to approach him. Although his body was full of the breath of the sea heirs, he did not cause any harm to the deep-sea hunter team. He was just looking for something here.

As Goletia spoke, the Ghost Sharks could only distance themselves and, by the way, clear out the group of Sea Herons that were trying to surround them. These low-level Sea Herons were indeed easy and pleasant to kill, and posed no threat at all. However, the appearance of this strange knight doubled their pressure.

And those who knew of this existence—always remembered the description in the book.

Legend has it that the last knight returned to Iberia. In his eyes, his enemies were not alive, and his only targets were mountains, cities, and waves.

Legend has it that the last knight settled on the coast, sleeping in the open air, day after day, until he forgot how to take off his helmet.

Legend has it that the last knight battled a huge wave until he disappeared. His family discovered his remains on the shore, brought them back to the Kingdom of Knights, and buried them deep in the mountains.

Legend has it that his or her story was known by a poet, who processed it, sang it, and gave it meaning and symbols. In this form, the knight returned to the land of chivalry, embroiled in controversy...

but……

...Some people also believe that the mad knight has defeated the sea, time and death. He rushes and chases until all things end.

The last knight, Noah used to think that he was a poor man obsessed with something, but now, Noah finally understood what the "huge wave" that the last knight was really fighting against was.

It was a wave that would sweep across the continent, annihilate all life, raise huge waves, submerge the land, make it impossible to grow food on arable land, and turn all things into its nourishment. When the last knight settled on the coast, he probably witnessed this with his own eyes, witnessed the Iberians being invaded by the waves, witnessed the waves eroding the precious arable land and turning the soil into wasteland, and he understood what caused the scars inflicted on this land.

So he fought the waves alone—

until now……

This huge wave must be Hai Si.

This noble knight died in battle with Hai Si, but his will was indestructible. He relied on Hai Si's flesh and blood to repair his body and picked up his spear again - his charge was not over yet, he wanted to completely wipe out the evil in his heart.

He is indeed a respectable knight——

Noya closed her eyes and felt the call. This knight... was coming for her.

——If you think the waves are noisy, go and calm the sea.

—The waves... kill the waves... kill the sea...

"...You...are you calling me?" Noah responded. The other party had long been eroded by Hai Si, but not assimilated by Hai Si. His strong willpower allowed him to still have self-awareness. Although this body had been completely transformed into Hai Si, his will remained throughout, and he would not be defeated by Hai Si!

"...Ah..." The last knight suddenly raised his head and looked at the Eye of Iberia, this incredibly huge lighthouse. He seemed to be looking at Noah from a distance. The moment he received a response, he finally calmed down.

"...So...you have always been by my side..." His voice was hoarse, not like that of a human. When he made the sound with his alienated throat, Ghost Shark and others beside him felt like the sharp sound of nails scratching on a blackboard, which made people get goose bumps all over their bodies. The voice of the knight who had been completely transformed into a sea creature was also like that of a monster. Gloria raised the Changshuo in her hand and looked at the enemy in front of her vigilantly.

Before he was completely sea-adapted, this knight was definitely a strong man. Judging from the style of his armor, he was not originally built for naval battles - in other words, this strange knight adapted to the sea through sea-adaptation.

And after becoming a sea heir, he still retained his self-awareness. It could even be said that in him, Gloria saw what it would be like if a deep-sea hunter had not undergone sophisticated surgery and screening to control his form and will, but had naturally come into contact with the flesh and blood of a sea heir.

Twisted, weird, crazy——

Human will was originally unable to compete with the collective will of Hai Si, but there are always exceptions.

Perhaps he would be defeated one day - but not today, not at this moment.

He was awakened by Noya's voice, and his originally chaotic will suddenly became clear, but his clarity only lasted for a moment - then he was enraged by the countless sea disciples around him, and anger once again overwhelmed his reason, and then he swung the spear in his hand.

“…Die—kill the giant wave!”

The last knight finally took the initiative to join the battle. In an instant, the pressure on Elini and others was relieved. The last knight's aggressive fighting style attracted the siege of most of the sea creatures. However, even if the sea creatures wanted to drown the knight, they would be crushed during the knight's charge. The knight who was seriously sea-ized had strength beyond the level of most deep-sea hunters, and every move was enough to crush a large number of sea creatures.

The bit of rationality he had left prevented him from attacking Gloria and the others. Since they really could not intervene, the hunters retreated to the door of the lighthouse. Looking at the last knight who went in and out of the sea herd seven times, even Gloria could not help but sigh at his performance.

"Who is he?"

"No one knows... Although there are occasional sightings, people think it's just a legend," Elini said. "In Casimir's fairy tale book, he's called the Last Knight."

"The Last Knight... is indeed the most accurate name." With the Last Knight's help, guarding the lighthouse seemed less difficult. Dario raised his lantern, letting the purple flames within illuminate the dark sea. Under the light, most of the sea creatures retreated, but there were still a few monsters lurking within the ocean... Without the Last Knight's frantic charge, they would likely have lost at least one or two lives to resolve the siege.

"Is he immortal..." Ghost Shark couldn't help but sigh. "Strong—his body, after being completely transformed into the Sea Si, makes him tireless. The Sea Si has created its own greatest enemy. If I could return to Agor, I would personally carve a statue for him."

"I think you can stop worrying about the statue for now..." At this time, Noah walked out from the lighthouse, "Jody succeeded, he restarted the lighthouse."

"The Punishment Army's reinforcements haven't arrived yet... Have we been abandoned?" Skadi frowned and asked. "Another betrayal?"

"I think they might be having some trouble over there, too." Noya shook her head. She didn't think Dr. Kal'tsit would abandon them. So, most likely, something happened on shore. She also understood why Skadi felt that way. After all, being a mercenary for so long, being betrayed or misled by your employer wasn't uncommon. "After all, the lighthouse being reopened is always a good thing..."

Before they could finish their words, they felt the ground beneath their feet begin to tremble. Long-lost energy was flowing through the pipelines, filling the shattered body of the Eye of Iberia, allowing it to open its eyes. The lighthouse was restarted. This Terran wonder, a monument, finally revealed its grandeur and splendor. It was incredible that after so long, abandoned without maintenance or repair, it still functioned as it had.

Mace helped pull the final lever to open the lighthouse, and instantly the entire reef was illuminated by the light of the lighthouse, as if it were dawn.

"The power system has been restarted. Well done." Noah returned to the control room and praised Jody generously for completing this task. "To be honest, I originally planned to bring you along just in case, but now it seems like it was the right decision."