Arknights, but the sickly pretty girl starts

"When she found someone she could protect with her life, when she found a direction she could risk her life for...she naturally changed."

As soon as he finished speaking, the two people on the field finally got out of the fight. The frequency and level of their fights were the highest in this competition, like two storms crushing each other.

This gave many people an illusion - could it be that these two people didn't even need to breathe?

There was almost no time to relax during the fight just now. That's right... there was not even a pause to breathe.

After the two of them finally calmed down, Tora also showed a satisfied smile.

"--You are the strongest opponent I have ever met, Tianma." In the fight just now, Tura still lost half a move. Although most people could not see it clearly, Tura was still very clear that if Margaret had stabbed him with the sword in his hand, he would definitely be injured, but Margaret stopped and even took the initiative to break away from the fight.

"Thank you." Margaret breathed steadily. The fight just now did not make her feel tired. Within a few breaths, the fatigue had disappeared.

Golden Pegasus and Nightmare are exactly this kind of monsters—

Chapter 177: Shadow

Tora never underestimated Margaret Linguang because he knew a legend - when the Khan was still young, he was defeated by a Pegasus with golden blood.

He has always been curious, are there really Kuranta with golden blood in this world?

Just like now, both of them were injured, their long swords cut through the armor of the Knight of Glory, barely breaking through the armor's defense, and the blood flowing out was ordinary red.

But if Lian Yao Knight is not the Pegasus with golden blood, then who is?

"Warm-ups are over... Glory Knight." While Tora was disappointed, he also acknowledged Glory Knight's strength. Even if he wasn't a Pegasus with golden blood, Glory Knight's strength was enough to earn his respect. It had to be said that the other party had the confidence to say he would protect the princess. "Since you don't deserve the reputation..."

In this land of knights, no knight had ever been able to defeat Tora in a duel of martial prowess. Known as the Nightmare Chaser, he seemed to have never felt a challenge in this land. He had been disappointed for a time, but now, his desire for conquest had returned. The air froze, and many in the audience, both spectators and knights, found themselves almost unable to breathe, a wave of emotion coursing through their faces.

Fear? Why? Why do I feel fear while watching an exciting game?

This strange pressure affected almost everyone. People's legs were trembling, as if they had really seen the Khan coming... kneel down... As long as they kneel down, they can survive.

It was as if something engraved in their bones was urging them to kneel down. If this force did not mainly affect them, they would have fallen to their knees long ago.

"Then let reality take a detour for me."

Margaret's expression grew solemn. Though she was already strong enough to resist this fear, even capable of radiating light from her body, she had to admit that Tora's Originium technique was extremely dangerous. Even an unconscious leak could affect the audience. For the first time, Margaret subconsciously cast a spell... a radiance, a blazing sun-like light that instantly dispelled the gloomy atmosphere of the entire arena.

Tora gazed at Margaret Linguang, who emerged from the light, gazing at this legendary Knight of Glory. A smile appeared on his lips. Sure enough—the legend was true.

Shining Knight... You shouldn't live in this decaying city. Life here will eventually dull your brilliance. Your ancestors were defeated by the Khan to protect the people, and your clan was meant to stand shoulder to shoulder with the Nightmare Clan. The Nightmare Khan must have felt deeply regretful. He had believed the Golden Pegasus was his destined opponent, only to discover that while the Golden Pegasus's will to protect the people remained undimmed, its strength had waned in the days of peace.

Until he was defeated by Nightmare Khan, the golden Pegasus was still protecting those... people who were not strong enough. Nightmare Khan once extended an olive branch to him.

"Follow me and head to the southernmost part of this world. There is the most dangerous challenge in the world. It is a trial for the brave. You are qualified - follow me." The words of Nightmare Khan made the eyes of the middle-aged man lying on the ground flash. Indeed, in the southernmost part of this world, a group of monsters were wreaking havoc, and the army of Nightmare Khan was just passing through Casimir to see the golden Pegasus that once defeated it.

But now, things are different. Under the iron hoof of Nightmare Khan, no one can escape.

"Promise... or die?"

Nightmare Khan asked the golden Pegasus—

"I will protect my people..."

"..." Nightmare Khan was surprised at the Golden Pegasus standing up again and the group of cowards hiding behind him. He suddenly laughed, "I see, that's why you've become weaker. You have too many things to protect, and they always diminish your brilliance."

The nightmare did not end the Golden Pegasus' life, but the Golden Pegasus dynasty collapsed overnight. The knights were unwilling to serve a king who was defeated by others, so they sidelined him, established a parliament and organization, and redefined Casimir.

And Nightmare Khan - he never came back, he remained in history, went to the southernmost part, and joined the Shah.

They redraw the map of the southernmost part.

Today, it is called... the Foehn Land.

"Back then, my ancestors invited the Golden Pegasus to join their expedition, but the cowardly Golden Pegasus declined. I thought Golden Pegasus were all timid, afraid to accept a challenge. But you are different, Radiant Knight—you have the courage." Within the darkness created by Originium's art, the Radiant Knight's light dispelled the darkness, once again proving that the Nightmare and the Golden Pegasus are a race that naturally restrains each other. "...And sooner or later, your brilliance will dim due to the comfortable life in the city. Are you truly willing to accept this?"

Tora controls fear. His bloodline has taught him to control this illusory power of fear.

In the darkness of the night, the unknown darkness has long since created a dark nightmare, and fear is their food -

Unlike the golden Pegasus who were born bright, the Nightmare was such a race, a terrifying race.

Unlike Noah, who has a slightly mixed bloodline, Tora is a nightmare with pure bloodline... He is the last Qiexue.

The Khan's personal guards, a true nightmare.

This memory derived from his blood allows Tora to recall some fragments. Although they are fragmented, he can vaguely see his past life from them.

"The young hunter embarked on a journey to heaven, starting from his dream, heading for the other side of gold."

"Holding a halberd stained with the blood of my kin, I am drowned in crimson sorrow."

It was a song, a...tragic song.

Noah heard it in the stands. Although the sound was very small and there was no reason for Noah sitting so far away to hear it, she heard it anyway. Tora was singing the song she had heard in her dream.

She understood, and she felt as if her body was responding to the song. She sang along subconsciously, her eyes gradually turning blood red. No one noticed that a phantom had appeared on the field. This phantom gradually turned from illusion into reality, standing between the two of them, holding two swords, with his face covered by a mask. The moment he appeared, the entire field was attracted by his terrifying presence.

No one could take their eyes off him. If Tora was merely manipulating fear through instinct—

This person is fear itself.

Chapter 178: So Far

Tora stared at the shadow that suddenly appeared, and his whole body fell into an extreme frenzy. His blood told him that the shadow in front of him was the most noble existence.

He almost wanted to kneel down, but the shadow only appeared for a moment, just looked at Margaret, and then gradually disappeared.

Although the shadow disappeared, Margaret felt a sense of suffocation, as if her heart was being squeezed.

The shadow was clearly just a fake artifact created by Originium Technique, but Margaret sensed a sense of pressure from it. That's right—it was the kind of pressure she'd felt when facing her most powerful enemy. Fortunately, the shadow only lasted for a moment. Margaret's back was soaked with cold sweat, and she couldn't imagine what this thing was... Was it Tora's Originium Technique? Or...

She glanced towards the audience, but did not see Noah——

Noah had fainted at this time. Just now, at the moment the shadow appeared, she seemed to have descended onto the field. She regained her sight and looked at Margaret in front of her.

But her spirit was unable to continue supporting the shadow's movement. After a quick glance at Margaret, the shadow dissipated like quicksand.

McGee watched as Noah suddenly fainted beside him. He quickly called for help, requesting that Noah be taken to hospital. He knew Noah was weak, and the spell cast by Nightmare had clearly affected the entire audience. Everyone was absorbed in the emotion, but Tora, like a shot of chicken blood, suddenly lunged forward and stabbed the Radiant Knight. Margaret reacted quickly, but was still repelled by the force.

And this time - it was the first time that Margaret retreated during a fight.

"This shot... can an average person take it?" The Left Hand Knight in the audience said to himself at this time. If it wasn't for the Knight Yao, the shot just now would probably have been a chilling blow.

“The real deal.” Rhyme agreed. “He… is a true nightmare.”

"Just a lost child." Ms. Russell sighed. They were all frightened the moment the shadow appeared. Fortunately, the shadow only appeared for a moment, probably due to the Nightmare Chaser's Originium skill. If the shadow really appeared...

Ms. Russell must consider whether the entire Casimir is large enough for this evil god...

But at this moment, Big Mouth Mob also received a message. Although he was a little shocked, he still had to announce it.

"Emergency! The Nightmare Chaser Knight...the spell he just cast has been deemed to have affected the spectators and referees! This clearly violates Articles 3 and 7 of the Knight Competition Rules!"

"Knighting competitions must not harm or threaten the personal or property safety of spectators in any form, and knights must not interfere with the referee's subjective judgment in any form."

Even Big Mouth Mob himself felt it was a bit forced, the timing was terrible. Although I heard that this arrangement was made because a spokesperson fainted during the competition...

"This match is over! So..." Big Mouth Mob had originally thought the two would lay down their weapons as planned, accept the investigation, and try to appease the crowd. After all, that was how it usually went.

But he was wrong—

"bring it on!"

“…Light, gather together.”

The two knights seemed to have not heard what Big Mouth Mob said at all. Neither of them would back down. Both sides used their Originium skills at full power. In the arena, Tora's Originium skills and Margaret's Originium skills intertwined with each other, turning into a big net of darkness and light. The two knights had no intention of playing by the rules at all, or... they were already red-eyed.

"The match has ended! Please separate the two knights immediately! Referee! Where's the referee? Go and stop them!"

"...Who's going?" The referees looked at each other. "You have health insurance, so you can go?"

"You have it too, why don't you go?"

"...If I go in, will I still be alive to get the insurance?" The two referees are retired knights. Normally, even if there are disobedient people, these two retired knights who are at least at the official competition level have the ability and confidence to separate the two people. But now... who dares to go up and separate these two?

Do you think everyone is Liu Bei, the Emperor of the Han Dynasty, who can defeat Guan Yu and Zhang Fei one by one?

Of course, in addition to cherishing their lives, the two also subconsciously did not want to stop the fight. This kind of real high-level duel...how many years has it been since it appeared on the Cavaliers court?

Blocking Tora's strike once again, Margaret's sword suddenly shortened, transforming into a two-handed greatsword. He slashed down fiercely, only to be blocked by Tora's longsword's hilt. This kind of exchange had happened countless times before. After seeing that phantom, Tora seemed to have taken stimulants, increasing both the frequency and force of his attacks. Margaret, however, remained calm, using his Originium skills to resist the black mist while employing his martial arts to defend and counterattack.

"It's exhilarating! So exhilarating! Brilliant Knight! You've seen life and death, you've witnessed cruelty. You won't be shaken by fear, and you won't be shaken by me—even by that being just now, you could stand firm. I respect you, Golden Pegasus!"

"Powerful enemies and insurmountable difficulties are not scary - in comparison, the numbness and self-degradation revealed by this city at this moment are much more terrifying than you." Margaret heard the verdict, of course, but she couldn't stop either.

This is a battle of ideologies. Unless someone can forcibly stop them, they will only face life and death.

"Casimir is truly disgusting nowadays—come, let us show them what their mock duel really looks like!"

-

"..." Lime was silent. He really couldn't say anything else. He used to despise the knight competition and the knights born in the knight competition, but now, he was speechless.

He had to admit that the high level of this duel was rare even among duels between warring knights. Compared to this duel... even he felt his blood boiling.

"Grandmaster, I'm beginning to understand why you asked me to come to this match," Lime said. "The duel unfolding before me right now... is worthy of respect."

"Haha, I didn't expect them to go this far." Ms. Russell shook her head. "This is an accident."

"That's it!"

At this moment, a bloody shadow fell between the two of them.

Smoke and dust filled the air——

A huge axe separated the two of them.

Amidst the smoke and dust, a figure in blood-red armor emerged from the smoke.

"I say, that's it."

Chapter 179: Hero of the Infected - Blood Knight

The one who appeared in the arena was, of course, the previous champion Blood Knight.

That's right, apart from him, there is indeed no one who can separate the two people who have already started fighting, or in other words, apart from him, those who can separate the two people - do not want to stop this showdown.

The appearance of the Blood Knight did indeed make the two men stop their weapons. On the one hand, it was because of the pressure emanating from the Blood Knight, and on the other hand, this interruption also made their minds calmer than before.

"The game is over."

"Are you... the Blood Knight?" Margaret stared at the man in front of her who was dressed in full red armor. She had heard of the name of the Blood Knight since returning to Casimir. He was the one who won the championship after her, changed the rules and regulations, and allowed the infected to participate in the knight competition. He was a true reformer. The Blood Knight was now standing in front of her.

"Here it comes! Here it comes! Here it comes! Everyone who bought a ticket! Everyone who hasn't left yet has won! Casimir's red goblet! Hero! Dikaiopolis! Of course, the name is a little hard to remember, but don't miss this scene!" Big Mouth Mob's voice became more excited. "Casimir Special Championship Champion! The God of War from Minos - the Blood Knight!"

Although he appeared so passionate, as if this were all scripted, his heart was practically pounding. If these two were allowed to duel, how would the Chamber of Commerce stand? If something went wrong in this match, not only would a minor character like Mob the Big Mouth be in trouble, even the spokesperson would be in trouble. Today's show was probably okay. Did anyone pay attention to the spokesperson's expression?

...Huh? The spokesperson is missing?

"Dikaiopolis, a Minoan name. He's the infected champion from three years ago?" Lime frowned, somewhat displeased that the other party had stopped the duel. While he understood that the duel would likely result in one death and one injury, most people were unwilling to stop a fight between two truly respectable warriors.

At this moment, there were two champions on the field, and these two champions were looking at each other.

There is a high possibility that they will meet in the finals, and then the biggest highlight of this tournament will come, the showdown between the two champions.

Whose rank is higher? The youngest champion, Margaret, or the undefeated Blood Knight, Dikaiopolis?

Now, even without the introduction of Big Mouth Mob, people are already excited. The strong versus the strong, the popular versus the popular, this is what they want to see most.

In any case, this scene will eventually be recorded in the annual event MV of this year's Casimir Knight Championship!

"...You, are also a champion?" Although Tora didn't care about any rules, he respected the strong. It was a fact that the game was interrupted, and the other champion he wanted to conquer was right in front of him.

"Your next opponent is me, Nightmare," the Blood Knight said, then turned and looked at Margaret. "And my next opponent is you."

"...Heh, haha... You're saying, I'm definitely going to lose to you..."

"Of course." The Blood Knight answered calmly, as if he was announcing a trivial matter.

"..." Tora stared at the Blood Knight in front of him. Didn't he see his fight just now? Why? Even the Radiant Knight couldn't defeat him!

"How can a phantom of the past defeat a hero of the present?" The Blood Knight responded coldly, "You, Infected, I await the day of my decisive battle with you."

The latter sentence obviously refers to Margaret. After all, the news outside still points to Margaret Linguang being an infected knight.

"You just want to leave like this? After you interrupted such a glorious duel?" Tora picked up the weapon in his hand, as if he was going to stop the Blood Knight, but the next moment, the Blood Knight slowly turned around and swung an axe without warning. Tora only had time to resist with his spear, but the next moment he retreated three steps because of the Blood Knight's brute force. Although it was only three steps, it was enough to shock Tora.

"...You..." Tora looked at the man in front of him in disbelief. If Margaret was strong enough to resist fear, then the man in front of him even made Tora feel terrified.

"Nightmare, you should learn this lesson. The only thing that can frighten people is the present."