About the time I was picked up and adopted by Tallulah

"Of course I know... Wuuu! Stop pulling my ears, auntie...!"

Maria, who wanted to get away with it, was exposed on the spot, and tried to stop Zofia from pulling her furry ears with tears in her eyes.

"How stupid are you? You still don't even understand the schedule and mechanics! Orson, come explain this to Maria."

Sofia put her hands on her hips angrily, then called Orson over and prepared to teach her a lesson about her stupidity.

"Hey hey hey"

"It seems you know nothing either! One of you wants to change the corrupt status quo of the Casimir Knights, and the other wants to save the infected oppressed and enslaved by Casimir, but you two don't even know what the Play-in Tournament is??"

As soon as Sofia saw Orson's silly expression, she immediately understood what was going on. She didn't expect that such a small Linguang house could gather two such talented people, Crouching Dragon and Phoenix.

Zofia now vaguely feels that she should try to tell Maria not to pay attention to Orson. If these two people end up together, the intelligence level of the next generation will probably be comparable to that of the guy in Morioh-cho whose stand is a space bomber.

No, I'm not going to give up yet - no, no, what does giving up mean? It had nothing to do with me in the first place!

Sophia was so angry that she started to have wild thoughts. Then she pulled out the whip from her waist and started swinging it.

"In short—perhaps I should use a slightly more forceful approach to get you to remember this..."

Sofia walked slowly towards the two of them, holding the whip in both hands. Her usual somewhat helpless look was completely different, and her queenly aura instantly became full.

"Aunt, Aunt, please don't...!"

"Don't call me aunt!"

Outside the door, Mainna, who had just arrived home with dark circles under his eyes, had not yet opened the door. After hearing the sonic boom of the whip, Maria's screams, and Orson's dissuasion and wailing, he silently retracted his hand and turned to head for a nearby motel.

Later, under Zofia's devilish teaching, Orson and Maria finally understood the details of the knight competition system.

"So the Play-Ins are a round-robin format, right? I understand everything now. Now it's time to see who I'll be facing in the first match."

Orson, with his ponytail hair all over his body, looked at the schedule of the games being played on TV.

Maria’s first battle was against an old acquaintance, Plastic Knight.

And Orson's first opponent...

"...?"

Orson frowned and stared at the words "Mysterious Deer-Headed Man" on TV with a subtle expression.

47. This is the same as the promised 8, right, Patriot Senior! ?

"call……"

Although he had gone through countless simulations, when he was really about to enter the battlefield, his heartbeat still couldn't stop accelerating, and every cell in his body was trembling, as if out of fear, but also seemed to be excited.

——This is the battlefield that my sister and aunt once stepped onto, and this is the stage I will step onto next.

Maria gently placed the so-called "practice" knight sword in front of her, closed her eyes slightly, and brought her eyebrows close to the sword.

In fact, Maria didn't know the origin and meaning of this action. She just saw her grandfather and sister Margaret doing this action, so she followed suit.

——My mood...slowly calmed down.

After striking the pose according to her memory, Maria felt much calmer, perhaps because of the cold temperature of the knight's sword.

Maria was wearing the same set of armor that her sister Margaret of the Linguang family had practiced. Although it was beautiful and simple, it looked too simple and shabby compared to the "armor" of large enterprises that were now equipped with various high-tech technologies.

But this is exactly what Maria wants. Her goal is to prove the "chivalry" in her heart in her own way, and in the process, she naturally will not accept the solicitation and support of any force or camp.

In Zofia's words, this is like trying to carry river water with your bare hands, but for Maria, this somewhat "clumsy" method is exactly the path she has chosen.

——Almost.

"Don't be too nervous, you can do it."

"Um……"

"I've seen your potential before, and I believe you can do it."

"Um……"

"Take a deep breath! Running away from the battlefield now is unbecoming of a knight!"

"That's what I said..."

Maria patted Orson, who was sitting in the lounge planting mushrooms. The latter would always respond as if he was being dragged out for a morning run after staying up all night.

Maria kept comforting Orson, who was standing beside her, hoping that the young man who was competing after her would cheer up.

That’s right, it was Maria who did the ideological work on Orson.

After finalizing the battle list yesterday, Maria didn't feel too nervous. Instead, she felt relieved because her opponent was a familiar Plastic Knight.

But Orson is different.

When Orson first saw the names [Mysterious Deer-Headed Man], he rubbed his eyes and asked Zofia if there was a person in the knight arena whose code name was "Mysterious Deer-Headed Man".

After Zofia said she had never heard of the name, Orson began to wonder if it was a gimmick from another company.

After seeing that the company to which the mysterious deer-headed man belonged was the "Reunion Movement", Orson began to wonder whether the Reunion Movement had secretly replaced the contestant with Political Commissar Alina this time.

When he looked up the height of the "mysterious deer-headed man" and found it was 245cm, Orson began to wonder if Alina was planning to appear on stilts.

But... there is nothing to be proud of. At this point, Orson has to admit the fact that his first game as a Cavalier will be against the Patriots.

"Hey... why is this happening? Hey... there must be something wrong, right? Soga, I always thought I could consistently make it to the top 8, but I was so arrogant."

The sudden bad news made the child so anxious that he could hardly speak clearly.

"I don't know the origins of that Deer-Headed Man, but there's no need to be so pessimistic, right? There are a lot of matches in the play-in tournament, so even if we don't get a single point, it won't matter."

Seeing Orson so discouraged, Zofia explained to Orson that even if he couldn't beat the deer-headed man, he still had a chance to enter the top 8.

"Oh, that's right! It's easy to accumulate points in the qualifying rounds, and it's not an elimination system!"

Orson suddenly remembered the rules of the knight competition that Zofia, himself, and Maria had previously popularized.

It doesn't mean that after being carried out by the big daddy, you will completely miss the subsequent betting games. It will be enough to get more points in other games.

That's the problem solved! As long as I can survive the patriots' spears—

"So don't worry too much—why are you suddenly squatting in the corner and growing mushrooms again!?"

Before Zofia could finish her words, she noticed that Orson had become even more depressed than before.

Maria and Zofia looked at each other. They both knew that although Orson had no previous competition experience, his fighting skills were among the best in the knight competition. Therefore, they were even more curious about who that guy called the Deer-Headed Man was and who could scare Orson like this.

Of course, what the two of them didn't know was that the issue between Orson and the Patriot wasn't just a matter of compatibility, the main issue was the father-in-law issue.

Back in the lounge, cheers and chatter from the host could be heard from afar, and the staff signaled Maria to prepare for her first game.

"Keep going, Maria. Mr. Serkiak is a formidable opponent. Don't worry about winning or losing; just go and show your chivalry."

Before Maria came on the court, Orson stopped playing badly and gave Maria a thumbs up. Maria was stunned for a moment, then nodded with a smile.

"Then I'm off!"

Maria threw her dazzling golden hair behind her, and her eyes cast away all the immaturity and childishness, leaving only a bright and pure light.

On the other hand, due to the tight schedule of the qualifying round, Orson will compete in another venue next.

"Um……?"

While Orson was checking the condition of his weapon, 'Scarlet (Queen)', his cell phone suddenly rang.

"—"

Orson picked up the phone, and on the other end of the line was the very familiar voice of Tallulah.

After a few seconds, a smile appeared on Orson's lips.

Then, the staff signaled Orson to get ready, as the debut of the 'Infected Knight' was about to begin.

Orson changed his previous bitter face. He walked out of the lounge leisurely and confidently and stepped into the open-air arena.

There were quite a few spectators around, the host was not the one with the broom hair, and he didn't seem that skilled in his job.

Apart from being accidentally recognized by Eno at Eno's concert, this was the first time that Orson was stared at by so many people.

But these had nothing to do with Orson. His eyes were only focused on the "mysterious deer-headed man" standing opposite him, towering like a hill.

"Tallulah called me earlier and told me, Patriot Senior. We just need to pretend in this match, and I'll pretend to be defeated in the end—"

boom! !

Before Orson could finish his words, a hurricane suddenly blew up around him.

No, it was not a "hurricane", but the turbulence caused by the spears thrown by the patriots.

"As I said before, Froststar is now in your care, Orson."

The Patriot was wearing a helmet to disguise his identity, but Orson could still sense the serious face behind the helmet.

"This is the final test—let me see your limits."

"..."

Orson glanced at Tallulah in the audience.

Tallulah looked at the clouds in the sky; they were so white.

48. Battle for the Leader of the Integration Movement

Although Orson often "trained" under the Patriot when he was in the North, in fact, the two had never had a real fair "competition" in such a long time.

"This is the final test, Orson. Let me see your limits."

In the arena, the patriot's tone was calm but extremely heavy, as unshakable as a mountain.

"……I see."

Orson was a little confused at first. After all, that was not what he had said to Tallulah on the phone before. It was like agreeing to a masquerade ball, and then he dressed up as a mummy and opened the door to find out that it was the company's annual meeting summary. Everyone was in suits and leather shoes. He felt fooled.

But Orson did not continue to try to persuade the Patriot. After all, he had been with the old man for such a long time, and Orson knew very well how stubborn he was. Perhaps only Frost Star could correct his established opinion.

That being the case...

Orson took off the peculiarly shaped longsword from his waist. He placed his palm lightly on the sword. As the tuning "heated up", heat energy gradually flowed into the engine of the sword, growling and waiting to roar out according to Orson's command.

The Patriot nodded, holding the heavy shield in front of him and holding the spear, a single-person, one-way space vehicle, in his right hand.

814 The Thirty-year-old Kirin

Although rationally thinking, Patriot is the "enemy" with the worst compatibility with himself, the "curtain call" of the Silence Originium technique will not affect him, and the opponent's strength and physique are far superior to his own.

But at this point, there is no room for "rational thinking".

This had nothing to do with the Knightly Games, the goals of the Reunion Movement and Rhodes Island, or the expectations of the audience; it was simply the response a warrior should give.

"Please give me your guidance, Senior Patriot."

Orson spoke softly, and then the next second - he took the initiative to rush forward.

Keng! !

The knight's sword slammed heavily onto the shield in front of the patriot, and the teeth-grinding sound of metal collision spread outward almost instantly.

——It really is as expected, not moving at all.

He swung his hands to chop with all his strength, but the Patriot simply raised his shield to block it without even retreating.

Of course, he had anticipated this situation a long time ago. Orson never thought that a mountain would be easily shaken if he chopped it with all his strength.

"Is that all?"

The Patriot questioned Orson, twisting his body to push the shield, knocking Orson outward.

"Of course it's more than that!"

Such a huge attack trend cannot be met head-on. Orson used his sword as a buffer to disperse the force of the shield's blow. At the same time, he summoned a pause as his body flew backwards, forcibly clinging to the ground of the arena to slow down his retreat.

But the Patriot had no intention of playing a "turn-based" game. Before the war began, he said that what he wanted to see was the "limit" of the young man he had promised to give Frost Star its future.

Before Orson could fully regain his balance, the patriot's spear swept towards him again, mixed with a hurricane that could tear his face apart.