Arknights, but the sickly pretty girl starts

Noah, standing under the Wall of Champions, didn't know what the other two were thinking. She just felt safe standing here. This was probably the last place in Casimir where Margaret's honor was still preserved. When she stood here, she always had a feeling that Casimir might not have completely rotted away.

At least, the glory has not been completely forgotten, and the honor of the knight has not been buried in the dust.

She subconsciously touched the long sword hanging beside her that belonged to Kirilet's glorious past. Unfortunately, she had lost the qualifications to become a knight and only had the right to admire it.

He couldn't even draw the sword passed down from his family. He really wasn't qualified to be a knight. Perhaps even if he wasn't disabled, even if he wasn't infected with oripathy, he wouldn't be able to truly fight alongside Margaret?

Shaking his head, Noah suppressed the resentment that was rising in his heart and smiled once more. "Okay, let's not keep Grandma Russell waiting any longer. Let's go, Uncle Maenna."

Of course Mainna noticed the sword beside her. Although he only felt loneliness from her expression for a moment, he still caught it. Mainna raised his head and looked at his very promising niece. In the portrait, she looked much more mature than in reality, with a firm expression, as if no blow could shake her faith. In her face, one could see the shadow of his brother Snitz. It might not be groundless to say that a daughter resembles her father.

The heroic Brilliant Knight had long been engraved on the wall of champions, but Noah, who had protected his companions, could only look up...

Would she feel unwilling? Would she feel lonely? Or...

Mainna didn't know it, but beneath this wall of champions, Noya's expression wasn't as relaxed as usual. She stood there, illuminated by the lights, looking incredibly lonely, but no one approached—because beside her should be the absent knight.

In a trance, someone came to her side and supported her wheelchair. The blonde hair made her think for a moment that it was the Knight of Glory in the portrait who had left the painting and came down to accompany her girl. But how could such a thing be possible?

Noya turned her head and smiled at Kuro and nodded. "Thank you, let's go."

Kuro, pushing his wheelchair, left the Champions Wall first, and the rest followed. However, Maria, who was the last one left, looked at the three paintings before the Brilliant Knight with some confusion. They were portraits of the Black Knight, the only legendary figure in Casimir to have won three consecutive championships. For some reason, she felt a sense of déjà vu about the Black Knight. Glancing at the nameplate below, she only saw this line of words.

【Black Knight】Mace

锏？

Although Maria had heard of the legend of the Black Knight a long time ago, this was the first time she knew the Black Knight's real name. There was no surname, just a simple word, and it was even the name of a weapon.

mace——

-

Arriving at the banquet hall, Ms. Russell, seated at the head of the table, looked up and saw the group arriving. Her kind gaze swept across the younger generation, finally landing on Noah, who was in a wheelchair. A flicker of guilt flashed in her eyes, but she didn't show it. She simply stood up and welcomed everyone. The guests invited to this banquet were primarily members of the three major knight families.

Lin Guang, Kirielight, and - the Russell family.

Ioletta Russell, today's Grand Master, Casimir's pinnacle of power, Chairman of the Supervisory Commission and Grand Master of the Crusade Knights, Grand Master of the Silver Spear Pegasus - a living legend.

After the deaths of Kirielet and the Linguang family, she had become Casimir's sole remaining war hero. Her status was now unquestionable, and there was no one more distinguished in all of Casimir. But at this moment, she simply wanted to see the kind-hearted descendant of her old friend. She had witnessed Maria Linguang's brilliant performance and Mainna's transformation, and she was sincerely happy for the Linguang family's resurgence.

However, when her relieved gaze fell on Noah Kyrielight, her eyes became solemn...

Noah Kyrielight, known as a traitor of the ancient knight family, as a member of the ancient knight family, turned to the Chamber of Commerce and even served as the spokesperson of the Chamber of Commerce.

In the eyes of the knights who once belonged to the Kirielight family, the glory of the Kirielight family has disappeared. The Kirielight that betrayed its own honor is no longer the glorious Kirielight.

Her actions completely put her at odds with the traditional knight nobility, and even caused some people to dislike the young head of the Kirilet family.

Russell tried his best to suppress the bad reviews of Noah among the knights, but in the eyes of most knights, Noah was a traitor, a traitor without any chivalry.

This junior is also her biggest headache. She has her own ideas. She took the initiative to contact the Chamber of Commerce and used her own way to stir up trouble in Casimir. But if it is said that she has completely become a running dog of capital, Russell will definitely not believe it.

There was no doubt that she was still the proud Kyrielighter at heart.

But this does not change Noah's current embarrassing situation...

Among the traditional knights and nobles, she was an outlier.

In the Chamber of Commerce, she is still an outlier.

Now the Chamber of Commerce chose her to be its spokesperson, largely because she wanted to disgust the knight class, as if to say to them: the head of the ancient knight family that you admire has now joined the business world.

Russell wondered how Noah, who had only recently reached adulthood, truly viewed this situation. What was Noah's mindset, considered an outlier by both sides, and how she had managed to rise to her current position, managing to be both a force to be reckoned with within the Chamber of Commerce? Her knight family background offered no advantages, only perpetuating them. She had truly built her own way to this position.

In this respect, she is indeed worthy of respect.

But as the Grand Knight Commander, Russell must show enough distance... This is inevitable.

Under the gaze of the Grand Knight, Noah smiled the same smile as usual.

"Long time no see, Grandma Russell, how are you?"

“…Yeah, all good.”

Russell suddenly felt relieved. It seemed that she had not changed.

Even though her position has changed to what it is now, what she cares about most is still her own body.

Maybe... nothing has changed.

Chapter 83: The Witch King's Successor

This gathering was obviously not just for eating. Perhaps only Maria was eating the delicacies without a care in the world, but Maina and Noah were obviously just trying a few of them.

Viviana felt that the atmosphere was a little off. Her adoptive mother's gaze was always fixed on Noah, and her eyes were complicated, showing both relief and worry. Even though Viviana didn't have Noah's strong sixth sense, she could almost sense that the protagonist of this banquet was actually Noah.

Or... this banquet was held for Noah. As for Maria and myself, we probably just wanted to see the younger generation and invited them by the way.

This meal was quite difficult, but fortunately, Russell quickly got to the point.

"I have received a detailed proposal from the Chamber of Commerce requesting a thorough investigation into the gas explosion accident that occurred at the Howling Guard Company." Russell stared at Noah. Although Mainna did not mention Noah when explaining the whole thing to her, she instinctively realized that this matter should be closely related to Noah. After all, Mainna's fighting style could not have caused the tragic situation inside the Howling Guard. She had not seen this kind of method of distorting the soul and body for a long time.

"Of course, I'm withdrawing this proposal. On the one hand, we don't intend to continue the investigation. Mainna has made it very clear about the remnants of the Witch King. However, now is not the time to settle accounts. Regarding this decision, I think it's best to explain it to you first."

Russell observed Noah's reaction, but she remained silent. The other party's probing intentions were clear, and Noah absolutely could not admit anything about her at this moment. Even if the elders in front of her were unlikely to do anything to her, she had to pretend that she had nothing to do with the matter.

This incident itself should be characterized as an accident caused by the Witch King's remnants losing control of their magic.

It must also be characterized in this way, otherwise it may involve more troublesome things.

"Whistling Guard...isn't that a gas explosion?" Maria asked with some confusion at this time, and this question made Russell stunned.

"...Maria, please continue eating." Viviana quickly piled a lot of food on Maria's plate to prevent the child's questions from continuing to disrupt the atmosphere.

There are actually people who believe that it was a gas explosion...

Noah was speechless for a moment, but then Mainna spoke first. "I should have made it clear about that incident. When I entered the scene, the out-of-control technique had already caused the scene inside. This was an accident."

"Of course, that's my assessment as well." Russell nodded. "But I'm curious about the uncontrolled technique itself that can cause such widespread destruction..."

Noah subconsciously touched the music box he'd brought along. The true core of the Lost Control ritual lay there. It looked like Grandma Russell was planning to hand it over herself. However, considering the dangers of the Voice of the World, especially the one Noah held after it had been completed, he could still control it. After all, he'd already figured out how to handle the Voice of the World that night.

But if it were left to Grandma Russell...

Noah subconsciously felt something was not good. After all, this thing was strictly speaking a taboo in Leithania. If it was handed over to the Supervisory Commission, Noah was a little worried that the Supervisory Commission would conduct some overly radical exploration methods.

But how to refuse... Noah was also in trouble.

You can't handle this thing? Let me do it?

Even if Grandma Russell was willing, the Supervisory Commission wouldn't agree. But this thing is really more stable in her hands...

"I didn't see the core of the out-of-control spell—" At this time, Mainna said, "When I entered the scene, everything was already over. It's very likely that the core of the spell was also damaged in that mutation."

"...Is that so?" Ms. Russell's gaze fell on Maina like a sword, but Maina's expression remained unchanged, and there was no flaw in her eyes. "Are you sure?"

"I can guarantee it." Mainna nodded. "I guarantee on the honor of Mainna Linguang that the situation at the scene was very serious. I believe the core of the ritual was damaged."

Noah subconsciously twitched the corners of his mouth. Indeed, the music box itself was damaged because of his intervention. Strictly speaking, Mainna was not lying. It could only be said that she concealed some facts, such as the fact that Kuro was present at the time.

It can be said that this statement is quite ambiguous...

Russell didn't dwell on it for too long. She just looked at Noah meaningfully and then said, "Well, I hope you can be responsible for your words. That's a very dangerous thing."

That’s about it.

"Yes." Maina understood. Out of trust in Noah, she didn't ask him to hand over the music box. However, that didn't mean she wasn't worried about the dangers of Noah keeping the music box. In fact, the most important thing about this meeting was the music box.

The Voice of the World, the legacy of the Witch King, this is something Leithia will never allow other countries to possess...

So even though the matter of the Howling Guards has come to an end, neither the remnants of the Witch King nor the people of Letania will probably let go of this music box.

Should we say that the entire country has developed PTSD about the Witch King's things... or are there still people who want to pursue the Witch King's power?

The music box in Noah's hand may be more precious than she imagined.

Of course, if the people of Leithania knew that Noah had the ability to repair the sounds of the world, their interest in the music box would probably be transferred directly to Noah himself.

Even in Leithania, a country famous for its warlocks, there is no warlock who can repair the Witch-King's Earthly Voice... It can be said that there has never been one before and there will never be one again.

The Sorcerer King's genius made his remaining spells and music seem like divine writings, impossible for normal sorcerers to decipher, let alone penetrate the inner workings of the music and repair it like Noah had done. However, Noah himself was unaware of the shocking nature of his actions, even to the point of being terrifying.

They may not be afraid that no one will be able to decipher the Witch King's spells and music, but they are afraid of the birth of another Witch King.

Now only a fragment of the music has been restored. What if she can continue to restore the worldly sounds? What if these worldly sounds can be restored to wholeness? What if she can truly gain the knowledge and power of the Witch King from them?

So what will happen...

Let's go back to the night when Noah repaired the Sound of the World -

At the moment when the Voice of the World was completely restored, far away on the twin towers of Leithania, the two tall women, one black and one white, who were originally chatting, were suddenly startled.

They heard music - it was not the music that could be heard everywhere in the city, but a resonance, as if the entire city had instantly turned into a huge musical instrument. Only a limited number of people could feel this sound. It was the melody that once echoed in their nightmares.

That is... the melody of the Witch King.

Chapter 84: Leitania's Response

"You should have discovered it, right?"

On the Twin Towers, the elegant woman in white asked the woman in black leaning on the railing, "I heard His voice."

"It's clear. Even after all these years, His voice still echoes in this place—His city." The woman in black didn't turn around, but instead looked down at the city, a city filled with music, magic, and a rich history. It was also the city that once belonged to Him, and now belonged to her and her.

The entire city still wailed in the darkness, and no one realized the significance of the music emanating from the Twin Towers. Perhaps they dismissed it as a child's mistake while practicing, or perhaps they simply considered it a cacophony of noise. Most people would have scoffed at the sound of this movement, after all, it defied modern musical theory and was so chaotic it was practically meaningless.

But only those who have truly heard this music and know this history will understand to whom this seemingly irregular music belongs.

But this city has almost forgotten that history, and also forgotten the man who once reached the top.

"What do you think caused this resonance? The remnants of the Witch King?"

The woman in white walked over to the side of the woman in black. Unlike the woman in black who was facing the railing, looking down, she simply leaned against it, letting the evening breeze blow her hair. She asked a question, while the woman in black fell into deep thought.

"Those idiots don't even know what they're pursuing," she replied. "The sounds of the world? They're just trash He carelessly discarded. The only music that truly resonates with Him is the music that truly belongs to Him."

"So... He's really back?" The woman in white's tone suddenly grew serious. "Is He really not dead?"

"You and I both know that He is dead." She stood up, leaning against the railing, not knowing whether she was trying to convince herself. "Even if He comes back from Hell, it will only be once again. We will send Him back to Hell once again, that's all."

That's right, there is no difference, it's just happening again.

The construction of the Twin Towers was due to the collapse of the Witch King's Tower. Leithnia no longer needs the Witch King.

Now in Leitania, there are only twin queens.

-

Also in Leithania, it was not only the black and white twins on the high tower who heard this resonance. They were hiding in the dark sewers, and compared with the two people chatting on the towering twin towers, they were like rats in the sewer.

"...That's the King's music." The man in the black robe excitedly shouted about his discovery. "The King has been reincarnated! The King has returned to this world!"

Despite shouting mad words, the crowd gathered in the sewers was infected by the frenzy. It had been so long since they had heard the king's music echo through the city, how could they not be mad with excitement? The king, known as the forbidden king in Leithania, once again displayed his music in reality, a sound that resonated throughout the city. This was undoubtedly a miracle—and proof that the Witch King's power had never faded.

The most urgent task, of course, is to find the reincarnation of the Witch King... In their opinion, the person who can repair the Witch King's music can only be the Witch King himself who has returned to this world in some way.

They must search for the source of this music and find the king who has returned to the world. The king's greatness allows him to transcend life and death, and even returning from the dead is not impossible. Perhaps in the eyes of the king, it is just a long nap. Furthermore, there are quite a few in the organization who simply do not acknowledge the fact that the Witch King is dead. In their view, the Twin Queens are just two frauds who seized power while the Witch King was away from state affairs and then spread rumors of his death.

Many people really believe that the Witch King is still alive under the Twin Towers.

And now, the music that resounded throughout Leitania undoubtedly foreshadowed the king's return.

"Go find the king's bloodline! The king's bloodline will guide us! It will guide us to find the true king!"

Frenzy, inexplicable frenzy swept the entire venue, and Noah, who was far away in Casimir, naturally had no idea how much trouble her act of restoring the music left by the Witch King had caused. At the dinner, she and Mainna concealed the existence of the music box and kept it with them for the time being.

It's impossible to say that Noah has no motives. The music box is dangerous, but it also contains a terrifying power capable of overturning a table. Noah deduces that the music of the Witch King has the power to alter the human soul, even directly distorting reality and illusion. Carrying the music box with him is also a way to protect himself. Although, if he could help it, Noah probably wouldn't want to open it in his lifetime.

After leaving the Supervisory Committee, Mainna and Noah temporarily let Maria and others go first. Kuro, Mainna and Noah found a secluded place. After making sure that there were no ears through the wall, Mainna spoke.

"You still have that music box, right?"

"Well, I've figured it out. This thing... should be a collection of the Sorcerer King's fragments collected by the remnants of the Sorcerer King," Noah said. "The essence of this fragment can distort a person's soul and body, blurring illusion and reality. But so far, it's been quite peaceful."

"The remnants of the Witch King might be eyeing this music box, be careful." Maenna nodded. He still trusted Noya. "Also, if anything happens, you can call me."

"I understand, Uncle Mainna." Noah certainly understood Mainna's concerns. "But Uncle Mainna, how did you know about the Howling Guards? I learned about it from other channels..."

"I... have some friends," Mainna said hesitantly, "who can occasionally give me some information."

"Is that so..." Noah nodded. In Casimir, there was actually an organization that could acquire intelligence faster than the No-Horn Alliance? Should we say there were hidden dragons and crouching tigers, or had the No-Horn Alliance really fallen to such a low point?

However, Noah didn't say much, just nodded, and then said, "If there is a next time, Uncle Maenna...can you let me know by the way?"