Rifle charge in Ark, but without a mount

"This is the rack I used to hang my armor on. It must be hard to store your heavy armor. Although I haven't used it for a long time, I think it's still pretty sturdy."

"You must have been a good swordsman back then."

"Oh, how do you know I'm using a sword?"

"To me, the features are quite obvious, and you should not have abandoned your martial arts skills."

Martin laughed. "You really don't look like a young man. Okay, I won't bother you anymore. Go to bed early."

After Martin left, Claude began to try to take off his armor. This was not an easy task, as some of the straps were out of reach, and it would be a bit troublesome for one person to take them off. In the past, this task was always done by his personal guards.

"Maybe I should hire a servant." Claude thought. As a fully armed knight, one person could not always take care of everything.

There is no such thing as slaves in the human empire, and their emperor cannot tolerate such inefficient waste. So the knights also need to hire servants in the market. The laws of the empire clearly protect the rights of servants, and they can even enjoy vacations that knights cannot expect too much.

"Let's go to a housekeeping company or something like that tomorrow and take a look."

After much effort, he took off his armor and hung it on the rack. Claude began his daily pre-bedtime exercise, commonly known as meditation. Meditation does not have a specific posture or even a specific method, as long as you can calm yourself down. In the final analysis, it is a suggestion to the body, to relax your muscles and bones, and everyone has a different method. The most important thing about meditation is to exercise your spirit. Use your spirit to move the ether in the air and transform your muscles and bones. Although there is no ether in the air now, it is also a good way to relax yourself.

After finishing his meditation, Claude fell into sleep immediately.

"Are you the one who accepted my employment? Miss Xinteleya."

Claude felt a little surprised when he saw the bright and beautiful girl with white hair sitting opposite him.

The other person has a very good appearance and is well dressed. She doesn't look like a maid, but more like a promising young person drinking coffee and typing on a keyboard in a high-rise building. But why would she accept this job as a servant?

'This is part of the job,' Sintela thought with gritted teeth. Sintela, or rather, a spy for the Helmetless Alliance - an organization that serves the Casimir Business Federation, is both a spy and a killer.

A novice like her didn't have to do this kind of work, but her boss's boss, a big shot, suddenly found her and told her that the target to be monitored this time was very powerful, and the other masters had things to do, so she was the only one who could be trusted among the remaining people. So poor Miss Xinteleya had to give up her hard-earned vacation, urgently trained in housekeeping skills, and cleaned the calluses on her hands with a special solution. Thinking of the annoying smile on the face of the big shot, she couldn't help but clench her fists.

Although she was filled with anger, she still responded with a very standard smile on the surface: "Yes, sir, your conditions are very good. I happen to be very proficient in housekeeping skills, so I came to apply for the job."

Claude looked at her carefully. Although there were signs of training, this was not uncommon in this world. "Although you said you are very good at housekeeping skills, I still need to do some tests. Please understand." "Of course, sir, I understand."

Claude brought Xinteleya to Martin's tavern and said to her: "Your job is to clean this tavern and my bedroom every day. Sometimes I need you to help me put on armor. Please clean this bar first and show it to me. If I am satisfied, we will sign the contract." "Okay, sir."

Xinteleya took a deep breath and began to clean. She first found the cleaning tools, and then began to clean neatly. Her movements were concise and powerful. She wiped the tables and chairs clean, put things in order, and cleaned the floor until it was shiny. It only took her 30 minutes to clean the tavern.

Claude looked at the newly renovated tavern. Although it was clean before, the furniture arrangement was not as good as it is now.

"I am very satisfied, miss. I can give you a monthly salary of 9000. Your work is worth the price." Claude said to Xinteleia with a gentle smile on his face.

Hearing her employer's words, Xinteleya couldn't help but show a happy expression on her face. -- I didn't expect that cleaning the room every day would earn such a high salary. And her employer was also very good-looking. Thinking about it this way, it seemed that it was not unacceptable. "Thank you for your generosity, sir."

........................

At dusk, Claude arrived at a house according to the address given to him by Margaret.

This house doesn't look like something that someone who has fallen on hard times would own. The sunlight shines on the white exterior wall, and the whole building looks dignified and majestic. The steel gate has golden decorations. The lawn in the garden is neatly trimmed, with many bright flowers planted. The ground is paved with white marble floors, and the gaps are cleaned without a single weed.

After ringing the doorbell, a blonde girl came to open the door a few moments later. She wore a black bow on her head and a white dress, and looked about 80% similar to Margaret, but her face was more childish and lovely.

The girl came to the door and saw Claude, and smiled brightly: "Hello, Mr. Claude, welcome to our home."

Claude bowed and said, "Hello, lovely Miss Maria. I am here at the invitation of Miss Margaret. This is a little gift."

"You're welcome. Please go to the living room and sit for a while." Maria's face turned a little red.

The living room of Lin Guang's house also looks very stylish and grand. The whole place is dominated by white and gold, with an exquisite fireplace, comfortable sofas and coffee tables, and a display cabinet decorated with armor and weapons. The armor inside looks very fine, and the swords are shining with a cold light. It is obvious that it has not been lacking in maintenance. Claude's eyes were attracted involuntarily and stopped in front of the display cabinet.

"This is my armor and weapons, I've had them for a long time."

A heroic voice came from the side, and Claude turned his head to look at Margaret who appeared next to him.

"It seems that you are good at swords, why did you change to war hammer?"

Margaret's face suddenly looked a little hesitant.

"If it's inconvenient to say, just forget it." Claude said sympathetically.

The two of them tacitly skipped this topic, and Lin Guang continued, "Welcome, Mr. Claude."

"You can just call me Claude. After all, we are comrades."

Margaret was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "Of course, please just call me Margaret instead of Miss."

Although he had just met yesterday, he unexpectedly trusted Mr. Claude. He seemed to have a convincing charm and could quickly gain the trust of others, just like Old Martin, Kval, and Batbayar in the tavern.

Just then, footsteps were heard on the spiral staircase and a tall and straight man walked down.

This man had the bright golden hair that was the hallmark of the Linguang family, and a golden ponytail. Although his facial expression seemed a little cold, his features were very regular. He was wearing a black suit, but the collar and cuffs were decorated with exquisite golden patterns. One arm was wearing a golden arm armor. His tie was not tied properly, but seemed a little loose, and the first button of his blue shirt was undone.

"This is my uncle, Maenna."

Made some changes

A New Beginning: Chapter 9: Continuous Victory

Claude looked at the middle-aged man in front of him, and the other man also looked at him with an ambiguous expression.

"Hello, Mr. Claude, welcome." It was a very calm greeting, neither humble nor arrogant.

"Hello, Mr. Mainna. It's our first meeting. Sorry for disturbing you." The two shook hands, and Mainna continued, "If it's convenient, please sit down and have a cup of tea."

The three of them sat on the sofa in the living room. Mauna skillfully brewed three cups of black tea, put them in white bone china tea sets, and placed them in front of each person.

A strange atmosphere filled the air between the three of them. Everyone was silent, not knowing what to say. Finally, it was Maenna who spoke first.

"Mr. Claude, you are a very powerful knight and you should have your own beliefs, so I have a question for you."

"But it doesn't matter."

"Why would you support Margaret's childish ideals? You should know the impracticability of her plan. She will not have any chance of success if she opposes those businessmen in a competition held within their system."

Margaret bowed her head.

"Mr. Maenna, I think you underestimate your niece."

Mauna frowned.

"You may think that she acted impulsively out of passion. But in my opinion, she has her own beliefs and knows the path she wants to take. She is a person who shines like the sun, so I think she deserves my support."

"She is just a little kid, she doesn't have any faith."

"When has a knight's faith ever been on a sword? The light in her heart is unshakable. And..." Claude suddenly paused and turned to look at Mayenna. "Maybe I'm being too much, sir, when has the light in your heart ever dimmed? I think there won't be any problem even without me."

"You can't protect them forever, sir. Since they have made up their minds, it's better for you as an elder to support them."

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After having dinner at Lin Guang's house, Margaret came out to see him off in the middle of the night.

"Thank you for your support, Claude. Although I don't think I deserve your praise, I really don't deserve it."

"That's not really a compliment. I believe you won't regret what you're going to do next. If you can do this, it means you have a firm belief. Who knows what will happen in the future? We just need to live well in the present and not let our future selves regret it."

Claude stood under the streetlight, his figure as tall as a poplar tree, holding his helmet in one hand.

"Please go back, Margaret. It's time for me to go back too."

"Goodbye, it was nice talking to you." Margaret said with a faint smile.

"Me too, bye." Claude put on his helmet with a smile.

Everyone was in a good mood and walked back under the dim light of the street lamps.

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Claude walked under the light of street lamps and the shade of trees. Suddenly, he tilted his head slightly and quickened his movements as if thinking about something.

Two minutes later, Claude climbed up from the sewage pipe next to him and stood on the roof to observe left and right. After finding nothing, he couldn't help but sigh, "He got away!" and turned around and left.

Two minutes later, Claude suddenly jumped onto the roof from the pipe next to him.

"It seems like he's really gone." Claude felt a little disappointed. He didn't want to linger here any longer and headed to the resting place.

This time, after Claude had been gone for a full half an hour, a slender hand finally reached out from the eaves. Then there was a head of smooth white hair and a pair of pointed horse ears. Xinteleya sat on the eaves and sighed deeply.

"I almost got caught." (ノへ￣,)

........................

Ingra tried to block the attack with the battle axe in his hand, but the lightning wrapped around the tip of the spear made the battle axe in his hand stiffen slightly, and then it was pushed away by this terrible force. The tip of the spear wrapped with lightning pierced into his breastplate like tearing a layer of brown paper.

At the critical moment of life and death, Ingra roared, his eyes seemed to be filled with blood, and his strength suddenly doubled. He swung the battle axe towards the enemy's head, trying to die together. A hand wearing a black iron glove hit his elbow heavily. Under the force of his full-strength swinging the battle axe downward and the effect of this force that was no less than his, his elbow made a crisp and horrifying sound, and it was unnaturally bent.

The intense pain brought Ingra back from his furious state, and then he was hit hard on the helmet by the gun barrel, knocking him unconscious.

A solemn and grand symphony sounded in the arena, like a general's triumphal return. The salutes around the venue blasted the streamers into the sky, floating all over the arena. The fans of Night Knight around gave earth-shaking cheers, celebrating their idol's victory. --Yes, he already has fans, and he doesn't even know it. It's unclear who organized it, and it's been quite a fuss on the terminal these two days, so he doesn't dare to go out.

"It's unbelievable. This is already the 4th victory that Night Knight has won today!!! One after another powerful knights have been defeated by him. With such a strong opponent, who else can stop him!!! Who else?!!!"

"Every time, the battle is over within three minutes!! His opponent can't even let him use a second move!! The lightning as dazzling as thunder easily defeats the well-designed armor!!!"

"The only knight who could even slightly fight him, Ingra, has now been defeated by his spear!!"

The commentator of the game was shouting at the top of his lungs, and seemed very excited, but Claude, just like he had done before, bowed slightly and turned away.

On the way out, people threw flowers at him, and he heard endless praises and cheers. This kind of situation was quite familiar to him. When he returned triumphantly with his army, he had seen even bigger scenes than this, with hundreds of thousands of people cheering for the iron army formation in the air, and their voices were enough to shake the earth and stir up a strong wind.

Although it was finally decided that Margaret would become the champion and realize her dream, Claude still wanted to compete with her. He believed that she also thought the same as him. Both parties were in sync and generally did not propose to withdraw from the competition. This was their pride as knights.

As they left the venue, a few drops of rain suddenly fell. Claude looked up at the cloudy sky.

"It looks like a heavy rain is coming."

A New Beginning: Chapter 10 The Storm is Coming

At the top of a tall building, there is a special room that is closed most of the time. There are no stairs or elevators to get here, and the only way to get here is to take a flying vehicle and land on the roof.

The interior decoration of the room was not luxurious, just a simple wooden floor, a leather sofa, and a round table. But even such a room that anyone with a little savings could live in was the dream place of all merchants in Casimir. As long as you enter here, it means that you have become the one standing at the top of Casimir. The lifeline of the entire Casimir is controlled by them. They can stir up a storm in the market with just one word, and make countless people rise to the top, or fall to pieces.

Today, this usually deserted building suddenly became lively. First, several servants cleaned the interior. Then, a group of smart and capable knights came in to conduct a careful investigation. After confirming that it was safe, aircraft landed on the parking lot outside one after another. Several people who looked very decent exchanged ideas with each other and then walked in. The knights in charge of security immediately surrounded the building and did not allow anyone to approach. The well-equipped hackers also immediately set up equipment to defend against electronic intrusions around it.

The room was not bright, but rather dim, making it difficult to see other people's faces. There were no windows to prevent assassinations.

Several people sat down in their seats one after another, but no one spoke. The silent atmosphere lasted for three minutes before a woman finally spoke.

"Korvin, I heard that your Knights' Special Tournament was not going well and there were a lot of problems."

"Don't be sarcastic, Artita. Do you think this has nothing to do with you? We are here today to solve it."

Just when the two were about to quarrel, a deep and old voice stopped them.

"Don't fight meaninglessly. Colvin is right. We are here to solve problems, not to create new ones."

"Korvin, explain the situation."

"Okay, everyone, let's take a look at these two people. One is Claude Etter. The other is Margaret Lin Guang, the eldest daughter of the Lin Guang family."

"Let's not talk about the eldest daughter of the Linguang family. They have always been at odds with us, and this Claude Etter has repeatedly rejected our recruitment. It is still unclear what his real purpose is, but there is no doubt that their actions will pose a considerable threat to us. Once someone who does not cooperate with us becomes the champion, it will break the convention of the knight competition, and the knight competition is undoubtedly the lifeblood of Casimir. This is a challenge to our authority and is absolutely not allowed."

"That's a good point, but how should we solve it? They are no small players. I have tried several times in a row and failed to get them to withdraw from the competition."

"According to the news from the No Heroes Alliance, Claude once visited the Linguang family. It is very likely that they have already formed an alliance."

"This is really not good news. Because of the old man in the Linguang family, we can't take direct action against them."

"But this precedent must not be set. Once our authority is shaken, how can we control Casimir? If we cannot control Casimir, we will all die without a burial place."

"If it really doesn't work, we can only take extreme measures. At worst, we can push the Helmetless Alliance out to take the blame. The Supervisory Council will not fight us to the death. They can't afford the price. Otherwise, the Ursus Empire will not just stand there and watch. They can't afford the military expenses of the knights."

"But we cannot afford this price either. We can keep this plan, but we can only do this when we have no other options."

"The best outcome is to beat them directly in the game, then there will be no consequences."

"That's easier said than done. They are all very powerful knights. We can't find an opponent who can definitely defeat them."

"Everyone, I think you are worrying too much. The entire economy of Casimir is under our control. We have more than just the option of using force to deal with them. We can also try my method."

"Are you talking about the pair of infected brothers?"

"Yes, they are now two beasts. As long as the two of them can attack together, there is absolutely no knight who can defeat them."

"But how can we let the masses accept such an unfair duel?"

"They just want to have fun, why would they care about fairness? Just do it with confidence."

"It is necessary to try this plan, but we must make a good backup plan. If it really comes to the last resort, we can only..."

"Okay, everyone get ready, don't let them down."

The meeting lasted from early morning until noon, when several people left in their aircrafts, and the building returned to its original appearance.