Arknights, but the sickly pretty girl starts

Dreams, dreams are good.

Only in dreams can people enjoy that moment of peace.

Perhaps, before that day, Tora would indeed be crushed by the Blood Knight's sharp blade that symbolizes reality, and even his heart would collapse.

But... he saw what remained of the great Khan in the world.

His Khan was sitting high up in the spectator seats, watching the battlefield.

"My Khan—" Tora raised the long sword in his hand, "My Khan is over there—He is watching over this battlefield."

Shadows stood tall—behind Tora, one Nightmare Rider after another emerged from the pages of history. Time seemed to have reversed course, recreating everything in history within reality. Warriors who stood in opposition to reality, those Nightmare Riders, like demons, made the Blood Knight feel as if he were facing a veritable army of the Khan. His towering figure now seemed dwarfed, but he remained unfazed.

With flags waving, the ancient army revealed its true appearance at this time - they followed Tora like soldiers following Qiexue.

The horn sounded, it was an army from the distant past, a nation, a piece of history.

but--

The Blood Knight questioned.

"Is this the past you seek—is this the picture you dream of?" The Blood Knight raised his axe high. "You simply lack the courage to face your fate."

No one understood better than him that he was not truly facing an ancient Qiexue army.

He was facing a young man who wanted to destroy himself, a young man who had not been tamed by reality and wanted to fight it to the death.

A young man tries to recall his past life.

The mist shrouded the Blood Knight's blood-red armor. The cavalry's spears and blades weren't illusions; they could actually strike and kill. If killed by such a thing, their souls would likely be captured by this legion, becoming one of these ghostly cavalrymen. But the Blood Knight remained silent, his blood shield blocking nearly all the cavalry's thrusts and slashes. He waited for the true nightmare to strike.

"Fall down - hero, I will give this victory to the Khan first -"

Blood shield - broken.

Even Casimir's strongest shield could not withstand the long sword of Nightmare, whose spirit and energy had reached the peak.

The blade split the shield and embedded into the armor. Even a strong knight like the Blood Knight almost fell to one knee because of the force of the long sword.

But——that’s all.

Not deep enough—or not enough—

Tora understood this, but it was too late.

Even though he had used all his strength, he failed to kill the hero in front of him. This man, who seemed like a hero in the Minoan legend, had only this one chance to penetrate his shield.

"You... hurt me." The Blood Knight stared at Tora who was so close to him. Tora wanted to draw out his long sword, but found that the blood from the Blood Knight's wound had already wrapped around the long sword. No matter how hard Tora tried, he could not get the long sword back.

"...You actually...used this method..."

"You lack practical experience, young man. Not every flaw needs to be seized—" The Blood Knight did it on purpose, of course. If he got into a long battle, he would definitely not have enough blood, so he had to pretend to fight to the end with the blood shield, making Nightmare anxious and forcing him to break the blood shield himself. But when the weapon pierced his body and did not take his life, everything was over.

His blood would bind the long sword - and Nightmare, having lost his weapon, had now lost the capital to truly defeat him.

"You seem to be far from being the so-called Qiexue."

boom--

With a loud bang, the black fog finally dissipated, and the Blood Knight with a long sword embedded in his left shoulder stood on the field, as if he had already announced his victory.

Just when Big Mouth Mob was about to start cheering, they saw Tora's figure in the black fog. Although he was shaky, he did not fall down.

"Could it be possible... that it can continue?" Big Mouth Mob quickly changed his tone, "The Nightmare Chaser Knight who brought us such a shocking scene... he hasn't fallen yet!"

"...It's over." Noah said softly in the stands, "He's passed out, but he'd rather die than collapse. Perhaps... this is his way of fighting reality."

"...It's astonishing, a battle of this caliber..." The Brilliant Knight beside him couldn't help but sigh, "Both sides are powerful..."

The Blood Knight raised his hand. "I'm the Blood Knight, requesting a meeting with the judges. The Nightmare Chaser has fainted. If we delay any further, his life will be in danger. Announce the result."

What the Blood Knight said was right. After the medical staff entered the scene, they quickly discovered the true condition of the standing Nightmare Chaser Knight - he had fainted while standing.

The jury made a quick decision, and there was no doubt that the Blood Knight became the first knight to advance to the finals.

The duel between Nightmare and Champion finally came to an end.

"We solemnly declare! The winner of this time is—the Blood Knight!"

"Blood Knight! Blood Knight! Blood Knight!" The arena immediately fell into cheers. Not only the spectators, but also the infected knights, shouted the name of the Blood Knight, as if releasing the joy of revenge.

The Blood Knight's victory gave these infected people a shot in the arm. The Blood Knight who defeated the Nightmare was like a true hero and aroused cheers from all the infected people.

The Blood Knight himself first raised his hand to signal to the audience, then looked at Nightmare who had not yet fallen, and then raised his eyes - to look at the phantom in the stands that was invisible to most people and was now staring at him.

That's what... Nightmare was talking about, Khan?

The Blood Knight remembered that when Nightmare announced that the Khan was watching the battlefield, he raised his weapon in this direction.

At this moment, the phantom that was about three meters tall was staring at him from afar. The look in his eyes was filled with scrutiny and unknown emotions, which made him almost shudder.

But besides that phantom, he also met the eyes of the Radiant Knight. Without a doubt—

The champion this time will be decided between two former champions.

It is very likely that two infected knights will enter the finals... This kind of thing is simply unheard of. Many people have expressed their concerns. This group of people started to worry when the Blood Knight won the championship.

If the Infected Knight wins the championship again, will it lead to worse things happening?

The big partition, the silver spear Pegasus entered the city, and the incident on plot zero...

Everything has put the Chamber of Commerce on edge, and it seems they have to do something.

Although allowing the Blood Knights to retain the championship seemed to be the best option, they had to make adequate contingency plans.

Hero, Blood Knight, Hero of the Infected.

This name is so loud that it makes many non-infected people feel uncomfortable.

Everyone likes the Radiant Knight, but it must be said that the Radiant Knight is popular not because he is an infected person, but because he is a Radiant Knight. The Blood Knight is the one who truly changed the living environment of the infected.

Now the Chamber of Commerce has almost no way out -

Even if they were reluctant, they wanted the Blood Knights to retain the championship.

Although winning the championship again may cause the popularity of the game to decline... after all, the situation of a certain triple crown is still fresh in our memory.

The Black Knights were originally banned from participating because they were too powerful, causing a drop in viewership for the knight competition. After all, a fixed champion would make the knight competition itself meaningless.

"As expected, the news that the two infected might face off in the finals has already exploded online..." Noah held her chin in her hand. "Margaret, are you ready?"

"Of course." Margaret nodded. "I'm looking forward to the duel with the Blood Knight."

"After all, no one expected the Wind Knight to suddenly give up..." Noah said with a wry smile, "Now, we're really at the center of the storm."

"...Indeed." Judging from her perspective as a former competitive knight, Zofia suggested that the Wind Knight might be nearing retirement and didn't want to face Margaret and embarrass her in the process. "But this is also a good thing. It gives Margaret more time to recover from her injuries."

"The Blood Knight was seriously injured this time..." Margaret was also a little worried. "...If possible, I want to fight the Blood Knight in his prime."

"That's impossible. The Business Federation wouldn't agree, and neither would the Knights Association." Noah shook his head. "Being injured during a match is your own fault. You can't use that as an excuse to take a break. Broadcast time is extremely valuable."

"And this competition doesn't just have to consider the infected... we also have to consider Silver Spear Pegasus... I'm already having a stomachache." Noah added, "Silver Spear Pegasus is very likely to appear in the finals..."

Tora was receiving treatment, while Noah, Margaret, Zofia and Maria were together. After Noah spoke, Maria seemed to be hesitant to speak. Margaret noticed this, so she spoke.

"Maria, what do you think?"

"I..." Maria didn't know whether this was a good time or not. She always felt that saying this before the game would undermine her team's morale, so she was hesitant.

"It's okay, just say it. I haven't heard what you have in your heart for a long time." Margaret comforted her. Maria glanced at Noah and only spoke after she found that Noah nodded.

"Actually... I don't quite understand my sister's actions. I'm wondering... what's the point of becoming a knight in today's Casimir?" Maria asked. "When we won, what did the audience cheer for? What did we win?"

The question is poignant and goes to the heart of knightly athletics.

"Even if I wanted to work within their rules and defeat those who didn't want me to win...but what's the point? We were just slapping them in the face. Besides angering them, we didn't do them any harm. Besides, they have a way out. They can just let me win...or change the rules later, like...banning infected people from participating. They might even turn their anger on me."

And this... and this hypothesis, Noah had already thought of it a long time ago. She suddenly became curious - what would Margaret respond to? After all, this was not a simple question.

Chapter 196: Meaning?

"You're right, Maria." Margaret nodded, acknowledging Maria's concerns. Indeed, the Commercial Union wouldn't care about the knight's honor, nor would they care about his actions. They did have the opportunity and the means to throw dirty water on him, potentially leading to his expulsion again.

But - is this really meaningless?

"Becoming champion means nothing. It's all about the people watching us," Margaret explained. "Maria, if you think there's something wrong with this city, this country, where do you think the problem lies? Is it the corruption and depravity of the Supervisory Council, or the unbridled expansion and exploitation of the Chamber of Commerce?"

"...This." Maria didn't dare to say it, because she was just a child. She couldn't say that she knew nothing about the political situation and Casimir's current situation, but she didn't pay much attention to it.

"Perhaps one or the other, or perhaps both." Margaret hadn't actually intended for Maria to give an answer; she was simply reminding her of what to focus on. "People often say that Casimir needs to regain his glory. Someone must teach them what honor and justice are."

Those who walk in the dark for too long will forget what light looks like.

"What I have to do is teach those who walk the night road what light is like—" Margaret began, "It is not the knights who should pick up the glory."

"...Not a knight?"

"Victory isn't about defeating the enemy, Maria. 'A knight is a noble being who illuminates the entire earth.' But after lighting the path forward, clearing away thorns, and filling ditches, he shouldn't think he's done his best. What he needs to do is teach everyone who refuses to be manipulated to overcome suffering."

"Margaret, you're speaking too broadly." Noah smiled wryly and shook her head. "Maria, you just need to understand that what Margaret did wasn't for honor, but simply to set an example. If this country can still be saved, then naturally others will follow her lead."

"……Oh!"

"...Noah, what you said makes everything I said before seem stupid." Margaret complained a little, "Although that's what I meant."

"You just like to complicate simple principles. Understanding is crucial, so Margaret, you're not suited to being a teacher. You can only be a role model." Noah said with a smile, "So, all you need to do is win. Leave the rest to me."

"Yeah." Although she didn't know Noah's plan, as a childhood friend, Margaret knew that she could always trust Noah, and there was nothing she couldn't do once she promised.

It was as if she had promised Margaret that she would take care of the Linguang family, so she stayed here for so many years - until Margaret came back.

She has always been someone better than herself. Although she cannot become a knight, in Margaret's eyes... she has long been the most perfect knight.

On that rainy night when I was thirteen—that’s it.

-

During the preparations for the finals, Wind Knight's withdrawal gave Margaret time to recover, and the craftsmen were able to work overtime to add materials to Margaret's armor and sword. Maria, Master Cat, the craftsman, and Koval hadn't been seen in a few days. She still had dark circles under her eyes.

Tora's body recovered quickly. After all, he had the blood of a nightmare, and his physical fitness was a monster among monsters.

However, after his body recovered to a large extent, this taciturn man was still as silent as before. He would occasionally stay in the yard to bask in the sun, or watch Knight Yao and Zofia sparring, but he never said a word. He did not pick up his weapon again, and had no intention of training, as if his soul had been hollowed out.

Noah noticed this, so he found an opportunity to talk to Tora alone.

"...Are you okay?" As a rare relative, Tora always responds to Noya's questions.

However, Tora did not answer immediately. Instead, he remained silent for a long time before speaking. "In front of the Khan, I lost."

"...There's no Khan here." Noah sighed. "You used to call me Princess Princess and so on. Actually, I think you misunderstood. But it's true that we are all nightmares - it seems that there is no way to change this."

"A princess is a princess. You are worthy of my loyalty," Tora responded. "Thank you for treating me. It's a great honor."

"Do you really have to talk to me like this?" Noah felt a little helpless for a moment, "But I have to tell you, I can't keep you forever. Your journey isn't over yet, right?"

“…But you…”

"Don't say you..." Noah quickly corrected, "We are of the same generation, call me Noah."

"...Your Highness, Noah, I should follow you." Tora was silent for a moment, then added the word "Your Highness." Noah had no choice but to accept it, otherwise Tora probably wouldn't even be able to speak.

"There's no need to follow someone you don't understand—even if my bloodline is a little bit special." Noya sighed. "The Khan's era is over. Our family is now just distant relatives of the Nightmare. You can even let me call you brother. You should have just come of age, right? Calling me Your Highness... Where did you get this feudal desire? Victoria?"

“…” Tora fell silent again, but Noya had to know that silence meant that he did not intend to do what Noya said.

"Okay, I won't force you if you don't want to." Noah simply believed that everyone had their own destiny, and being bound by one's bloodline was pointless. "Then let me talk about a topic that might interest you."

"……Um."

"When you were fighting the Blood Knights before, didn't you think it was ridiculous that they stood up for someone they had no blood relationship with?" Noah asked. "What are the infected to you?"

"...Nothing special, sick people." Tora responded, "But I don't understand why patients stick together."

"...Is that so?" Noah sighed. "What if banding together is for survival?"

"That's perfectly fine. The weak should indeed stick together for warmth." Tora nodded, "Until the strong conquer them."

"The strong conquer the weak... Is that what's on your mind?" Noah was surprised to find that Tora's mind had a kind of beauty that was not polluted by knowledge. His overly direct worldview made him see only two kinds of people: the fallen and the worthy ones.

It's not black and white anymore...even Noah thinks Tora is a bit extreme.

"...I'm not good at teaching problem children..."

Chapter 197: Before the Finals