About the time I was picked up and adopted by Tallulah

"—That's impossible! The underground vault's automatic security system is absolutely impossible to crack, and the anti-theft vault door is set with a 20-minute time lock!"

The man roared in disbelief. At the same time, in the underground vault—

"So my role this time is [Super High Power Blowtorch], right?"

Miss Tallulah, the leader of the Reunion Movement, frowned and complained as she extinguished the "flame-amplifying blowtorch" specially crafted by Maria. Before her stood the vault door, melted by the intense heat of dragon breath.

"Well, well... Talulah, didn't you get a chance to have a one-on-one conversation with Orson? How about we just treat it as a cancellation?"

Alina, wearing a special black stealth tights, smiled and comforted Tallulah while removing the signal jamming module jointly developed by Krusier and Master Ai, the Engineering Director of the Integrated Movement, from the monitoring area.

While making the plan, Orson received information about the "underground vault" from Platinum. He immediately guessed that the man would definitely transfer the information to the vault in advance.

That kind of place cannot be stolen by clever means, so there must be "absolute secrecy" to destroy the early warning system, and at the same time "absolute violence" to forcibly bypass the time lock and physically dismantle the door.

Therefore, the combination of Alina and Tallulah came into being, with Alina responsible for infiltrating/shielding the alarm system and Tallulah responsible for TM shooting.

Of course, Orson was also very clear that the guy who could control both the Securities and Futures Commission and the Chamber of Commerce at the same time would definitely not be so easy to fool. If he had the thought that "the safe might be in danger" for a moment, the plan would be completely aborted.

Therefore, all actions today were actually a plan to paralyze the president of the Chamber of Commerce.

And judging from the results - the plan was a perfect success.

"Every transaction and action record you've conducted over the past ten years is here. We know you've monopolized and bought off all the newspapers, so we'll publish it in the Knight's Arena, which is now filled with countless knights and spectators. Do you have anything else to say, Mr. Curd?"

Maria uploaded part of the video and audio to the broadcasting system, ready to project it onto the arena where the fight was taking place.

"There's nothing wrong with my actions. This is the only way to save Casimir."

After the initial panic, shock, and disbelief, the man regained his composure. He understood the reality of his fall at the hands of these "childish brats," but he still didn't think his actions were wrong.

"If the 'method' you're talking about is using families to threaten those jousting knights, bribing those war knights and the elders of the Council of Justice with money, and allowing knight families to violate laws and regulations at will, slaughtering the infected for fun..."

"I'm sorry, but I cannot agree with your 'chivalry'."

Maria looked at the man and pressed the send button.

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"Hit his balls! Beat his balls!"

"The Patriot God descended to earth and struck four with one blow!"

"The Infected Knight is still dealing damage!"

"Why did you mess with him?"

Inside the Knight Arena, all kinds of shouts mixed together and rose and fell, including those who were there for fun, those who were dragged in to "earn extra money", those who rebelled against the Chamber of Commerce, and those who had decided to resist injustice from the very beginning.

Everyone was fighting in a group inside the arena, and perhaps because of Orson and the Patriots' principle of "no killing", or perhaps because the war knights and knights from other companies did not want to hurt ordinary people, or simply because everyone was simply tired of fighting, although the scene was extremely lively, there were not many unlucky guys who were actually killed.

Just when everyone was wondering when this mayhem would truly stop, the big screen in front of the venue suddenly lit up.

"Hello, hello... Um, can you hear me?"

Maria's voice and images appeared on the big screen, and everyone's attention was instantly attracted to the big screen.

"Is it Maria?" "Why is she there?" "What's going on?"

After a brief silence, the scene erupted into chaos again, with no one sure what was going on. Only Orson breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing Maria's face.

It seems that Maria and Tallulah have also successfully completed their mission, gathering the plans designated by everyone, and have finally reached the final step.

But this last step is not something I can interfere with.

"Everyone, I know that what I'm about to show you may be a little... difficult to accept, but these things, like a virus, have been poisoning our country for more than a decade."

"I hope to work with everyone to change Casimir, and the first step is to confront this seemingly glamorous 'state of chivalry' and discover what cruel and callous deeds it has perpetrated."

As Maria finished her words, footage of evidence taken out of the vault was shown.

The slaughter of the infected for fun, the elimination of knights who disobeyed the orders of the Commercial Union, the oppression and violence of ordinary citizens by the knight class, the manipulated knight competitions, the corrupt internal affairs of the Supervisory Commission -

The content shown was not much, but this little bit of the iceberg still made everyone present fall into silence.

Then came the voice of the spokesman, Czarne:

"Everyone...! Don't be fooled! These videos are fabricated without any basis! The champions of the Knights' Games have always been chosen by you yourselves, and the story about the infected is sheer nonsense!"

Orson did not refute, or rather, it was not the time for him to stand up and refute.

The ultimate goal of everything Orson and his team did was to "awaken the masses from the illusion of being manipulated" and then use public opinion to make the Grand Knight come out and clear up everything.

Whether it is seizing evidence or confronting the Knights head-on, the essence is just to allow the people to wake up from the illusion created by the Chamber of Commerce and the Supervisory Council.

If these 'audiences', these knights, still choose to believe that their lives have been fine after seeing all this, this plan will fail completely, or in other words, there is no room for saving this country.

After a moment of silence, an audience member responded.

"Bullshit! Maria didn't have to do this to deceive us!"

Like dominoes, after this sentence, everyone made their own choice.

"That's right! I watched that child walk all the way here! How could she be as full of lies as you guys!"

"That's Maria! Do you think that girl is like you? She's a foolish girl who obeyed the rules of chivalry even when fighting against the Corrupted Blight Knight!!"

"Even without this evidence, I would still believe what that child said! Her radiance can't be deceiving!!"

The crowd's voices of condemnation completely flooded the arena like a wave, and the spokesman was completely speechless in the face of this scene.

"...Haha, after all this time, it turns out we don't even need evidence?"

Orson lay on the ground, smiling as he listened to the noisy and passionate roars around him.

This time it's really over.

92. Five Horses Dismembered (?)

When I came to my senses, everything was over.

Contrary to what most people had expected, the families that had been manipulating the Commercial Association and corrupting the Supervisory Council were sanctioned and their arrogance was curbed without any effective resistance after the fall of the Grand Knight.

Some competitive knights belonging to different companies came together to speak out the various "rules" within the Casimir Knight Competition, and voluntarily gave up the qualifications to participate in corresponding competitions in the future.

Regarding the infected—although most people throughout Terra were unfriendly toward them, Casimir wasn't a country as ruthlessly hostile to them as Ursus. After seeing the footage of the underground arena, most citizens were furious at the noble knights and wealthy businessmen who watched the infected being slaughtered.

Currently, some of the rescued infected people have returned to families that can accept them, while others have received new arrangements at the suggestion of the Pharmaceutical Association "Rhodes Island".

It wasn't just the infected. When people discovered that the ancient knight families had also hidden countless disgusting crimes, the people of Casimir became extremely angry. They shouted and demanded the complete abolition of the knight class, believing that today's "knights" were just another form of capitalists.

Of course, these people's demands were temporarily resolved by the Grand Knight in a clever way.

Although [Knight] seems increasingly out of place in today's changing times, for the country of Casimir, the meaning represented by this term still cannot simply disappear completely.

With the public's awakening, anger, protests, and finally a temporary compromise, the turmoil caused by the knightly competition finally came to an end.

Of course, this knight competition was naturally temporarily suspended. After all, this incident involved almost every company participating in the competition. Every large and well-known company was caught up in various scandals. Some small companies that originally had high-quality products but were suppressed got the opportunity to develop in this turmoil. In time, they may become a presence that is not inferior to these large companies.

It seems that everything is just a shuffle, and Casimir's development is still in the "cycle".

But everyone believes that after this "collapse", Casimir will be able to slow down his so-called "progress" a little, look back to find the lost ancient spirit of the past, and slowly fill the gaps of the past few decades.

At least, at the very least, at the next knight competition, at least he wouldn't have to pay the outrageous 4% "faith tax".

Just like that, half a month later, at the Knights Arena—

"Ladies and gentlemen! It's been a long and groundbreaking two weeks. I believe you've all experienced tremendous changes during these two weeks. I wonder if you can keep up with Casimir's transformation from scratch? Of course, it doesn't matter if you can't. After all, the [Knight Competition] will never be absent!"

In the familiar commentary booth, "Big Mouth Mob" was still there with his mop-top hair and loud voice to liven up the atmosphere, but this time the familiar "spokesperson" was no longer seen in the venue.

After the incident was over, no, it should be said that the moment the Grand Knight Commander came out to purge the Supervisory Council and the Chamber of Commerce, the spokesperson was abandoned by the Chamber of Commerce as a pawn. In a sense, this middle-level management social animal no longer had to work 996 for the Chamber of Commerce, but could go to prison and live out the 855 health regimen with those fallen "knight nobles".

"Although knight competition has been on hiatus for a while due to well-known reasons, we have finally returned, and today we have brought you the much-anticipated new [event]. I know you are all super excited, so I won't say any more - welcome all 'knights'!!"

“Oh oh oh oh oh!!”

Big Mouth Mob shouted until the microphone exploded, and the atmosphere of the audience was completely aroused. It was as if the anger of the crowd two weeks ago had never existed.

As the host roared, several 'knights' emerged from both sides of the Knight Arena.

"First, let's welcome the president of the security company [Reunion Movement], the 'Red Dragon Knight', Tallulah, who possesses a blazing fire that can incinerate everything, but appears rather foolish!"

"What's with 'a bit silly'...and isn't this line too exaggerated?"

Tallulah walked into the arena with a frown on her face. Although she had become very familiar with this place during this period of time, this was her first time stepping onto the stage as a 'Knight'.

"Next, we have the smiling, silent Death Deer, also affiliated with the [Reunion Movement]. Don't be fooled by her cute appearance. 'Silver Deer Knight' - Alina!"

"Haha, it sounds like a beverage product~ And I'm not that scary, right, Tallulah?"

"Ah ha ha……"

Alina walked out from behind Tallulah with a smile, while Tallulah played dumb and evaded the question of her old friend.

In the past, during the Reunion Movement, when she was standing in front of Orson's bedroom and trying to find an excuse to sneak in, Alina suddenly patted her shoulder with a smile from behind. Even Tallulah couldn't bear it.

"The next one is even more important! He's the chief spokesperson for the pharmaceutical company [Rhodes Island], controlling life and death, and the company's accounts. He's the KING OF THE KING! The terrifying green lynx who absolutely cannot be disobeyed, 'Spinal Knight' - Kal'tsit!"

"Why can such a host still work?"

Kal'tsit, who was ridiculed with facts, was very upset and wanted to summon mon3tr out and play lift-up with the host.

"Next up is our old friend from Rhodes Island, the adorable, harmless, graceful Cat-Eared Knight—Rosemary!"

“Meow…?”

Rosemary shook her ears. No one had told her about this 'announcement of dishes' process before, so the kitten was a little confused.

"After the Reunion and Rhodes Island, next up is the familiar Rinkou family! Like the knight in the novel, Maria Rinkou, the young Pegasus, single-handedly fought against the 'wave' and ultimately awakened the chivalry within everyone with her pure light! And Zofia, the former competitive knight 'Whiplash Knight,' who has always been her silent coach and family supporter, by her side!"

"Wow... there are three times more people here today than usual. Have these people really changed? Why do they still feel like a bunch of fun people?"

Zofia looked at the densely packed audience in front of her and complained quietly that the Commercial Association and the ancient knight family were destroyed because of their united anger, but it was still this group of people who were attracted by all kinds of wonderful gimmicks.

Perhaps this is also the case for most people. They like to watch fun and have no special abilities, but they will still be infected by the purest kindness and light, and choose to change and believe.

"Since there are so many people here, we have to work hard too, Aunt! Uncle and sister are in the audience too! So we can't lose today!"

Unlike Zofia, Maria seems full of energy.

"Next up is the most interesting pairing! 'Platinum', a white-haired Pegasus girl formerly of the Casimir Special Organization, completely alien to the word 'knight'! And 'Gravel', a former infected victim, now a 'Fourth-Level Knight', a girl from Zalak with terrifying femininity that belies her height!"

"Haha... I'm really getting more and more confused about what's wrong with me that I've come here. Never mind, I'll just treat this as my last madness."

Bai Jin rubbed his hair and sighed, looking around without any motivation.

"Hehe, even though you say that, you actually know why you're here, don't you? You love playing pranks, but when it comes to love, you're as immature as a little girl. I don't dislike that kind of personality, you know?"

Li said with a smile while looking at Bai Jin who was standing beside him, but the latter just made a "tsk" sound and looked away.

The eight "knights" have now appeared, and the audience's expectations have reached their peak.

"Alright! All the knights have been introduced. I'm sure you've all noticed that today's competition is a mixed team competition, but we're going to add one more rule—"

Beep beep!

As the host spoke, a car drove up outside the Knight Arena.

The black luxury car drove straight to the center of the arena, then kicked a short teenager out of it, and the next second it reversed in fifth gear and ran away from the arena.

"Pfft! Why did you suddenly kick me down... Hmm? What are you all doing here?"

The boy who got out of the car - Orson - took a look at the surrounding environment and was instantly confused.

"Alright! The [Trophy] has been delivered. The rules for this [Team Mixed Tournament] are simple. The team that holds the [Infected Knight Trophy] longer will be the victor. The prize, of course, is the unconditional right to use Orson for 72 hours!"

"Oh oh oh oh oh oh!!"

Cheers erupted once again in the stadium, but this time the voices of the 'knights' were even more excited.

The 'Reunion Movement Team', the 'Rhodes Island Team', the 'Lingguang Team', the 'Extraneous Team' - everyone was sharpening their knives and rubbing their hands in anticipation of Orson, who looked bewildered in the center of the field.

Although the matter of Casimir has come to an end for the time being, the historical issue of 'who will own Orson' has not been resolved at all!

"Wait...wait a minute, the Grand Knight Commander said he would invite me to a place to discuss something. Is there a mistake there...?"

Orson, vaguely understanding the current situation, broke out in a cold sweat. A few minutes ago, he was still talking with the Grand Knight Commander, the supreme ruler of Casimir. Then, after receiving a phone call, the old man suddenly told him with a smile that he wanted to talk somewhere else, and then sent him to a black luxury car.