Please be my partner.

Hearing this, Mellen's eyes suddenly lit up, and vaguely, an idea lingered in his mind.

Melen asked, "Has the Abyssal World also just experienced a spiritual tide? What's the current level of the strongest being in this world? Is there a fifth-level saint?"

"No!" Dahl answered confidently at first, then explained, "A fifth-level Saint and a fourth-level Legend are completely different classes. It's not an exaggeration to say they are two different forms of life. Even the weakest Saint can, to a certain extent, ignore the world's suppression. Once a Saint-level demon attacks, no matter what means we use, the only outcome is defeat."

"Competition in the Endless Abyss is extremely cruel. If possible, this world corrupted by the power of the abyss will absolutely devour our world at all costs to strengthen itself. Therefore, there will be no such thing as a Saint-level demon deliberately not taking action."

Melen fell into deep thought after hearing this.

Although Dahl was a little confused, he did not interrupt.

After a long moment, Melen exhaled and asked, "Isn't the demonic power of the entire abyss gathered on the other side of the space-time rift?"

Dahl shook his head and said, "Of course not. Across the space-time rift lies a coalition of three powerful demon lords. Each demon lord commands tens of millions of demon armies and dozens of legendary demons. Moreover, the three demon lords themselves are all at the peak of the legendary level."

"They haven't taken action now, simply because they're afraid of the world's suppression. Once the fusion of the two worlds reaches a critical point, they will definitely launch a thundering attack."

Melen asked solemnly, "How long do we have left?"

Dahl said, "It is estimated that the two worlds will reach a critical point in thirty years. This critical point will last for at least three years and at most five years. After that, the rules of integration will begin to weaken. It is estimated that it will take eighty years for the two worlds to completely separate."

"If we can withstand the demonic attacks during this critical period, the situation will improve. If we are defeated, we won't have to worry about the future."

"Thirty years...?" Mellen nodded silently and breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, it wasn't so dramatic that he needed to deal with this disaster in the short term.

Although Mellen is modest, he never underestimates himself. He feels that thirty years is enough time for him to grow to the point where he can sweep across the abyss world.

In this way, the flash of inspiration that had passed through his mind before seemed to have the possibility of being executed.

Melen looked at the racial skill that Xiao Honglian gained after evolving into a blood-septic demon...

[Source of Blood]!

If we only look at the other racial skills, the Septic Demon is pretty good, but that's just how it is.

However, when the Septic Demon activates the [Source of Blood], a radical qualitative change will occur. The skills of other races will be subversively enhanced, and they can use a world as nourishment to support themselves.

The downside, of course, is becoming the enemy of the entire world, including the world itself.

Mellen's moral standards, at least the current moral standards, do not allow him to use a world as nourishment and billions of lives as fuel just to achieve his own goals.

But if the target is a world about to fall into the abyss, filled with demons...

Well, no one would want to speak for the devil, right?!

No matter how you look at it, the Abyss is a very suitable target for casting [Source of Blood].

Of course, no matter how suitable it is, Melen still has some limitations. The three demon lords on the other side of the space-time rift alone are far beyond Melen's ability to deal with at the moment, not to mention the power of the entire abyss world.

Although I have vague ideas, the most important thing now is to accumulate strength and plan for the long term.

Retracting these fluctuating thoughts, Melen began to chat with Dahl about other topics, about the space-time rift, about the Knights of Dusk, about the human kingdoms...

During the process, the two gradually reached a tacit understanding and made a verbal agreement on the threat of demons in the space-time rift.

It's a win-win situation.

For the Knights of Dusk, it was almost like they had gained an unfathomable and powerful helper for nothing. If the demons in the space-time rifts really showed any unusual movements, they would have an extra ally to share the burden.

For Melen, it is a good opportunity to use the platform and resources of the Dusk Knights to improve his own strength and strive to complete the initial accumulation as soon as possible.

After achieving his goal, Melen prepared to leave. However, before leaving, he suddenly thought of something and asked casually, "The basic brand rune of the Branded Knight should be universal for all related schools, right?"

"This..." Dahl hesitated.

"Huh?" Mellen stopped, looked at Dahl with some confusion, and asked, "Isn't it?"

This was indeed a bit beyond his expectations. Although internal strife is human nature, if there is no external enemy, it is normal for people to have their brains beaten to pieces.

But now there is the threat of demons in the space-time rift, and the Knights of Dusk are the first line of resistance. No matter how you think about it, they should be united to fight the crisis together. So, if the schools of the same system develop universal brand runes, they should share them with each other to improve their overall strength.

But judging by what Dahl said now, it seems otherwise?!

Could it be that in the face of the invasion from the Abyss World, the Dusk Knights still have to hold back?!

Dahl gave a wry smile and said, "There are indeed many problems within the Order of Dusk, but these are historical legacies that even successive generations of Dawn Knights have been unable to eliminate. It's true, as you said, that while there is occasional exchange between the various factions, when it comes to crucial inheritances, they will remain somewhat reserved. Even I cannot forcibly interfere with this."

Mellen frowned. Although he knew it was wrong, he could understand the reasoning behind it.

After all, people are selfish. Even if some selfless schools are willing to share the basic brand runes they have researched, they cannot withstand the schools that want to get them for free.

You share, but others hide it. Then you can imagine which school those outstanding knights will join. Who can stand this situation?

Just look at the Lava School and you will know. Now their influence is so great that they are almost surpassing the Earth School in its heyday. If the basic brand runes of the Lava School are open-sourced at this time, wouldn't it be "aiding the enemy" and ruining the good situation?

Some might say the lava school is selfish.

But everything has two sides.

The philosophy of the Lava School is that a powerful school can attract more outstanding knights, and only enough outstanding knights can gather to form the cornerstone of studying the root imprint.

Given the crisis the Twilight Knights are facing now, there is no room for a hundred flowers to bloom and a hundred schools of thought to contend. The most urgent task is to concentrate all efforts to open up a second, third, and even more legendary paths.

Now that the lava school is already at the forefront, it is naturally impossible to give up this advantage.

Considering the current situation, you can't say that this idea is wrong. Even in the entire Twilight Knights, there are many people who support this voice.

After listening to Dahl's explanation, Mellen was silent.

When he first came to the Dusk Knights, the Lava School did not leave a very good impression on Melen. Coupled with the descriptions of Lance and Gad, as well as the information he collected through other channels, he had preconceived notions and always felt that the Lava School had a "villainous face".

But now think about it, it is nothing more than a difference in ideas.

If the experiences of many villains in stories were replayed from a first-person perspective, it would not be inappropriate to say that they were the protagonists.

Upon careful analysis, one can even categorize the remarks within the Dusk Knights that denigrate the Lava School as simply jealousy of what others have that I don't?

Melen said: "I need all the brand runes related to the earth style."

There are at least a dozen schools branching out from the Earth School, including the Lava School and the Mountain School. If all the Earth Brand runes of these schools are collected, it will be an important supplement to Spike's Root Brand Path.

"Yes!" Dahl seemed to have thought about this question long ago and answered without hesitation. He said, "In fact, we also have plans to break the cage of genre restrictions. The 'Inherited Knight Plan' is one of them."

"Each school can nominate outstanding knights to compete for the position of Inherited Knight. The knight who obtains the position of Inherited Knight can ignore the rules of the school and freely learn the brand inheritance knowledge of all related schools. Of course, learning is limited to their own."

Mellen nodded slightly. This was a good idea.

He said, "Isn't Spike also eligible to compete for the position of Inherited Knight?"

Dahl nodded, hesitated for a moment, and said, "If Your Excellency requires, we can directly grant Spike a place as a Heritage Knight."

Mellen shook his head slightly and said, "Just follow the normal process."

This is not because Melen is being pretentious. After understanding the layers of contradictions within the Knights of Dusk, he is unwilling to use his identity privileges to oppress them. Otherwise, if some factions do not recognize him, are unwilling to provide the corresponding knowledge, or deliberately keep something to themselves, it will be a lot of trouble again.

The real world is not black and white, and there are unreasonable people everywhere.

In this case, it is better to follow the normal process from the beginning, so that no one can find any problems later.

And more importantly, with Spike's strength, Mellen doesn't think his dog will fail in the competition.

"Okay!" Dal said, looking at the Black Knight.

The Black Knight nodded immediately and said that he would arrange everything.

Melen was generally satisfied with this conversation. Not only did he get the information he wanted, but he also gained some unexpected gains.

After returning to his residence, Mellen continued to be busy. The dogs' training was on track and he didn't need to worry too much about it. The only exception was Xiao Liuli. As the little fox grew up, the relevant training plan should be put on the agenda.

As for Xiao Liuli, Melen has not yet completely determined the path it will take in the future. He just thinks that the little fox is suitable for the magic route, so the current training plan is to let the latter meditate with him.

Because wolf tamers are mainly responsible for training dogs and have no method of cultivation, and mental strength is the most important attribute, Mellen has never given up using the wizard's meditation method to improve his own spirit.

Starting from the earliest crystal meditation method, and later with the awakening of Sir Light, the rise of the new school, and the improvement of his own strength, Mellen also obtained many powerful meditation methods from the wizarding school.

Every day, he would meditate more or less. After all, meditation is like typing, which cannot be easily interrupted. What is needed is perseverance.

At first, Melen thought about using meditation instead of sleep, but gave up after understanding the nature of meditation. Meditation is a process that requires high concentration and activeness, which is completely conflicting with sleep in a relaxed state.

Moreover, the relaxing state of sleep itself is a kind of nourishment for the spirit and is essential for wizards.

A week or so passed leisurely like this.

That day, Lance and Gad came together, and they looked at Mellen with strange eyes.

After a long while, Melen couldn't help asking, "You two, what's going on?!"

Lance asked seriously, "Tell me the truth, are you the leader's illegitimate son? Or are you the legitimate descendant of a leader in the Knights?"

Mellen raised his eyebrows and said, "What do you want to say?"

Ged interrupted Lance's antics and said, "Great Knight Hans has sent us to inform you that the Earth School has nominated you to participate in this Legacy Knight election."

"Yeah." Mellen nodded casually.

Lance said frantically, "What's with that reaction? Do you understand what it means to be a Legacy Knight? Every participant needs to go through multiple rounds of selection within the sect. Every competitor could be the future leader of the Dusk Knights!"

"And you know, this Legacy Knight election is almost over. Even if new qualified participants emerge, they will have to wait in the next round. Your actions are blatantly cutting in line through privilege!"

Chapter 203 The Final Test and a Farce (2/12)

Mellen remained calm and responded, "So?"

"So..." Lance's expression changed, revealing a flattering smile. He said, "So, Boss Mellen, look, when Boss Spike competes for the Inherited Knight title, can you take us with you? We know Boss Spike is very powerful, but he also needs some help."

"Take you guys with you?" Melen asked doubtfully, "Can a knight competing for inheritance bring helpers?"

Gad explained, "Of course, leadership and command abilities are also important criteria for determining whether a knight is excellent. Therefore, when competing for the title of Heritage Knight, participants are allowed to lead a team of no more than ten knights, including themselves."

Melen nodded. Knights are indeed more suitable for group combat. This is also due to the characteristics of the knight's core ability [Life Force].

Although Branded Knights cannot be compared with Orthodox Knights in terms of joint operations, they can still provide quite good bonuses.

Mellen glanced at Lance and Gad, who were anxiously waiting, and said with a smile, "In that case, you can come with me."

Lance cheered excitedly upon hearing this. Gad was also very happy, but said a little embarrassedly, "After joining the participant team, if Boss Spike can obtain the quota of the Heritage Knight, we can also share a lot of benefits."

Mellen waved his hand nonchalantly, he had already guessed this.

Lance said excitedly, "Boss Mellen, do you want me to spread the news that Boss Spike will be participating in the Inherited Knight Competition? That way, we can recruit some more capable teammates."

Mellen shook his head and said, "No need."

Gade couldn't help but remind him, "Boss Mellen, the competition for the Legacy Knights gets increasingly intense as you progress, especially the final one, which is quite challenging. Recruiting more teammates can help share some of the pressure. With such a generous reward ahead, there's no need to worry about us not giving our all."

Mellen smiled and shook his head again.

Seeing this, Lance and Ged stopped trying to persuade him. They were both smart people and naturally knew that Mellen had his reasons for doing so.

Under normal circumstances, they can naturally make suggestions, but once Mellen, as the team leader, makes a decision, they will execute it unconditionally.

Mellen asked, "You just said that the competition for the Inherited Knight has reached its final stage? What are the rules now?"

Gade said, "We've already inquired before coming here. Currently, there are only six competitors left. The others have been eliminated in various previous trials."

"As per tradition, the final test for a Heritage Knight is to travel to a space-time rift and complete an extremely difficult mission. Assuming the team suffers no significant losses, the three most outstanding performers will become Heritage Knights based on their performance."

Lance said, "Boss Mellen, originally, only six people were required to compete for the three spots for the Heritage Knights. Boss Spike's sudden joining not only breaks the rules, but also reduces the chances of other participants becoming Heritage Knights. I'm afraid they will be targeted."

Mellen curled his lips. Strictly speaking, the reason why Spike was able to suddenly cut in line was all arranged by the top leaders of the Dusk Knights.

But, you can't expect those participants to vent their anger on the top leaders of the Dusk Knights, right?

So it is only natural that Spike would be targeted. After all, it is human nature to bully the weak and fear the strong.

Mellen asked, "When you go to the time-space rift to complete the test, can you interfere with other competitors? To what extent can you do that?"

Gad said, "For the Knights, infighting is absolutely forbidden within the Spacetime Rift. This is the bottom line. However, if you want to interfere, there are many ways to do it. The specific methods depend on the type of test mission."

Melen nodded and asked, "When does the final test begin?"

Lance said, "It should be in the next few days."

Mellen said, "Okay."

After a moment's thought, he added, "While we still have some time, help me get some information on the other participants. Knowing yourself and your enemy will ensure victory in every battle."

Lance and Gad looked at each other and said in unison, "Alright, leave it to us."

three days later.

The three received the notice and went to the central square.

When Melen and his team arrived, there were already six teams standing quietly in front of the statue of the Knight of Dawn.

These six teams are composed of young knights, wearing uniform armor, exuding confidence, and their leaders are all extraordinary.