I, the final BOSS of the beta test server!

He sat on the edge of the bed, holding the wine glass in one hand and drinking the wine he had mixed in small sips.

It was obviously a high-concentration liquor, but at this moment, Rast was not considered a weakling among the extraordinary people. The high-concentration alcohol was quickly decomposed and absorbed in his body, leaving only a mellow sweetness and a faint drunkenness like a gauze.

"How much can one person pay for justice?"

He gazed at the dark sky outside the window and recalled the question that Hiltina had asked him at the dormitory door not long ago.

In the previous Night World History Echoes, Gray had also asked Last a similar question, and his answer was always the same.

Last had already spent three hundred years in Deep Blue Harbor to interpret his true answer to this question.

He drank the wine in the glass in his hand by the bed and wanted to fall asleep with the help of the drunkenness.

But then, Rast's mind suddenly moved slightly.

His gaze was directed out the window, somewhere in the endless darkness of the night.

A faint rustling sound came from the night.

A few breaths later, someone appeared silently in the shadow of Rast's house and stood behind him silently.

"Senior, have you come here this time and seen the memory crystals I left behind?"

Rast didn't look back, but just stared at the seemingly endless curtain of eternal night outside the window and spoke calmly.

There was silence behind him.

After a long time, someone nodded slightly in the shadows: "Yeah."

This is Ingrid's voice.

As a wanted criminal of the empire, Ingrid has been marked as dead in the intelligence archives of all organizations in the Western Continent. She is a person who cannot be seen in public. If she is seen by the teachers and students of Star University, it will probably cause an uproar.

But Ingrid, as the former Chief of Inspectorate of the military and a sixth-level peak transcendent... has long been standing at the top of the transcendent field, and has mastered skills such as stealth and assassination to perfection.

If she wanted to hide her whereabouts with all her strength, then unless a legendary expert came in person, she would never be noticed by outsiders.

"I want to ask you one last question, Rust."

Ingrid stood in the shadows, looking at the boy sitting beside the bed.

Although the expression on his face was so peaceful, the boy's expression was so solemn, without words but full of majesty.

Rust nodded: "Please ask, Senior."

"Why do you choose to support Hiltina?"

Ingrid stared at Lust's face. "According to the fragments of the past contained in your memory crystal... Lust, you have clearly seen a darker night than I have."

"So you should know very clearly that Hiltina's philosophy is pure idealism, completely short-sighted, or perhaps even childish and naive."

"As a leader, one should learn to be ruthless, decisive, and make necessary sacrifices, rather than adhering to so-called 'chivalry,' which is clearly just the self-satisfaction of hypocrites."

"Yes, Senior Sister, what you said is not wrong."

Luster smiled. "A childish and naive idealist, a short-sighted person. Perhaps it's okay to describe Hiltyna in this way."

"However, this does not prevent her from shining brightly and making people yearn for her."

Last paused. "If a world can achieve a prosperous future simply by following the rules and avoiding mistakes, then the view you're suggesting, sacrificing the minority for the benefit of the majority, and prioritizing profit over all else, as a leader and decision-maker, may not be wrong."

"But what if the end of this world is inherently bleak and doomed to destruction?"

He gazed out the window at the boundless night. "According to your thinking, Senior Sister, based on the cold judgment of self-interest... if faced with the end of an era, a fate engraved in the laws of nature, then at this moment, people should simply lie down and wait for death."

"Under such circumstances, the world actually needs people like Hiltina, childish and naive idealists—"

"Only such a short-sighted person can become a symbol, shining through the darkness like the sun, bringing hope to people in desperate situations."

Rast thought of Cecil again, and the battle on the Broken Coast.

The Sixth Era was an old era that was destined to be destroyed and was written into the history books of later generations.

If it were an ordinary person, after knowing this hopeless truth and the irreversible, destined ending, he would probably have already become disheartened and chosen to lie down and wait for death.

But even so, after knowing everything, Cecil still burned himself out and entrusted his hopes to the future guardians of the shore.

That is certainly a short-sighted idea, the naive wishful thinking of an idealist.

But if it weren't for these short-sighted people and idealists, the "shore guards" would have been wiped out long ago, instead of being passed down from generation to generation until today.

"I have already answered the questions from Senior Sister."

Luster looked behind him, at Ingrid's slender figure shrouded in shadow.

"Then it's your turn, Senior Sister. Make your choice..."

Chapter 190: I Offer My Loyalty to You (Two in One)

The small room fell into a long silence.

After a long time, Ingrid walked out from the dark shadows.

There was a light surging in those beautiful eyes, representing Ingrid's constantly fluctuating emotions.

But in the end, the ups and downs in her eyes disappeared, returning to pure nothingness.

Under the light of the night light, a slight sound came from the intersection of shadow and light in the room. It was the sound of Ingrid kneeling on one knee.

Her right knee touched the ground, while her left knee remained upright. She lowered her head slightly, and her jet-black hair fell along with Ingrid's movements.

This was the ancient chivalric ceremony of the Granville Empire, a ritual by which knights swore allegiance to the monarch they served. At this moment, Ingrid made this gesture towards Last—

This means that Ingrid has already regarded herself as Rast's knight.

"That is my choice, Luster."

She knelt on one knee and tilted her head slightly.

Looking up at the young man with black hair and black eyes standing in front of him at the boundary between darkness and light.

"Ingrid, the former military inspector general who fell into evil to avenge her mother, her hands stained with blood, is now dead."

"He died at the Gustav Nuclear Power Plant that day, in that endless iron coffin in the deep sea."

"From now on, I will live only for you."

Ingrid looked up at the young man in the light, the dim candlelight reflected in her pupils like a misty sea of ​​stars.

"I will be the sharpest sword in your hand, slashing your enemies. I will also be the strongest shield before you, using my body to block disasters for you."

"Your mission is my mission, your will is my will."

"In the name of loyalty and righteousness, I will use my life to carry out your will—"

"Until the moment your limbs decay and your flesh withers, until life's end, until death separates you and me."

In the silent night, Ingrid knelt on one knee and recited the ancient testimony.

The Granville Empire is also known as the "Land of Summer Flowers" and the "Land of Knights."

This oath of loyalty sworn by a knight to his sovereign had been repeated thousands of times across the land of this kingdom, sung in the poems of countless bards and in the chivalric tales preserved in great libraries.

And at this moment, this ancient knight's testimony once again echoed under the same starry sky.

"So, please allow me to offer my loyalty to you...Last."

Amid the clanging sound of metal hitting the ground, Ingrid gently raised her right arm.

She used the metal prosthesis made of silver to hold up Rast's hand with extremely cautious movements.

Then, Ingrid lowered her head and kissed the back of the boy's hand.

"May I ask you something, my Lord?"

She remained kneeling on one knee, looking up at the young man in front of her, and spoke softly in a respectful voice.

"The organization you are about to establish..."

"What is the name of the place I need to join and will fight for my whole life to carry out your will?"

Listening to Ingrid's respectful words, Rust couldn't help but smile.

"Since you have already seen the memory crystals I left behind, Senior Sister."

"Then I think you should have heard the real name of this organization."

There was a slight pause in his words.

"Its name is—"

"The Shore Guardian"

……

"I understand. I know that for the next period of time, you will continue to focus on the strategy of the Night World."

"So, for the next period of time, I will secretly monitor the movements of Bronze Rose and Gravekeeper in the Western Continent."

"In addition, I will continue to collect clues and information related to the 'Fall of Canaan' incident two hundred years ago, as well as the Sixth Epoch Night World."

Ingrid's eyes flickered with the light of a candle lit late at night, and she spoke again in a pious and respectful voice.

"I am quite familiar with the Bronze Rose, the remnants of the nobles who fled beyond the border, and the Gravekeepers hiding behind the scenes."

"If we only gather intelligence without actually participating in the battle, I'm absolutely confident that the enemy won't notice."

"Then, allow me to take my leave, my Lord."

Ingrid once again gave Rast a standard knight's salute.

Her gaze paused for a moment on the empty bay window in Rast's room, but in the end she said nothing.

Ingrid retreated quietly and returned to the house late at night, into the darkness that had never been illuminated by candlelight.

After a few breaths, Rast felt the breath of Ingrid disappear silently, hidden in the seemingly endless darkness.

Just as she had come before, she came in the shadows and left in the shadows, committing herself to the darkness.

No one except Rast discovered her trace.

"As expected of the former head of the Military Inspection Department, his work style is so straightforward and efficient."

The silver-white light flashed and disappeared, and a furry ferret appeared in the bay window that was originally empty.

Then, it leaped lightly from the bay window and landed directly on Rast's shoulder.

"Besides, Little Lid's strength has improved a lot. Maybe she has already found her own legendary path... Did she sense my presence in the secondary dimension with that look just now?"

"You're right, considering your style of doing things in the night world, if you want to find an agent to carry out your will, then the person who is most suitable for the "Shore Keeper" organization is Lid—"

"Her style of action is extremely similar to yours. Both of you will do whatever it takes to achieve your goals, even to the point of risking your own life... When carrying out your missions, you will never be bound by worldly morals or laws. You can only describe her as ruthless and merciless."

"You and I are a perfect match."

Dean Yin shook his big furry tail and stood on Last's shoulder to express his sincere emotion.

"of course."

"If not, how could I possibly spend so much energy on my senior sister?"

Luster couldn't help but smile.

Including the time he spent sinking in the iron coffin in the deep sea, he has spent nearly four months on this. During these four months, Last did not even return to Star University once.

However, it was all worth it, and his efforts were rewarded.

As a subordinate and the executor of his own will, Ingrid's strength as a transcendent and her origin can only be described as impeccable.

Her professional background as the former director of the military's Inspectorate, her skills in infiltration, reconnaissance, counter-reconnaissance, tracking, assassination, etc.... are actually the areas that Ingrid is best at, and she has already honed them to perfection.

This is also the reason why Rast tried so hard to win Ingrid over.

After all, his own power is limited. If he can gain a loyal subordinate like Ingrid, then Last can secretly participate in this chess game planned on the Western Continent and exert his influence behind the scenes.

Although he is the heir of the "Fool's Library", Rast has a very clear understanding of himself.

The experience of surviving like a lone wolf in Deep Blue Harbor for three hundred years made it impossible for him to become a banner like Cecil, who had strong affinity and personal charm and could make countless people follow him subconsciously, nor could he become a true leader of a huge organization.

But, there's nothing wrong with that.

Surrounded by thousands of subjects, the king of lions who rules over the vast territory of the grassland has his own way of life.

The lone wolf, living alone and wandering in the wilderness, also has its own unique survival rules.

In the present world, on the Western Continent known as the Seventh Epoch, civilization is still in a state of prosperity and development. Although there are undercurrents, on the whole, it still maintains a superficial peace, which is completely different from the chaotic and disastrous scene in the Sixth Epoch.