The Blood Knight looked up at Darksteel perched atop the streetlamp and said to the Candle Knight beside him, "You take your people inside and help first. I'll handle him."
Candle Knight Viviana hesitated, wanting to say something. But her respect for the Blood Knight, as well as his authority as the leader of the knight club, compelled her to obey. She led the Flametail Knight and the other Fate Knight toward the besieged camp.
Darksteel leapt down from the streetlamp and faced the Blood Knight. "Still short on manpower for Tomorrow's Development?"
The Blood Knight frowned. "What are you talking about?"
"Ah, you thought I came here to fight you?" Darksteel removed his mask, revealing a handsome young man beneath. "I was only promoted in the past two years. I've been with the Armorless Union for less than a year. By seniority alone, I'm completely unqualified. It's just that they desperately needed a 'Darksteel' to stand at the front."
The Blood Knight continued gripping his giant axe, showing no intention of lowering it.
"The Armorless Union is a mercenary organization, an assassin organization." Darksteel continued calmly. "No one is allowed to remove their mask after joining, because we are merely executors, dogs of those above us. Dogs shouldn't have identities."
"Among those who join the Armorless Union are people with nowhere else to go, as well as the most vicious and depraved individuals. Once you step in, there's no turning back."
"But the arrival of Tomorrow's Development gave us another choice," Darksteel said. "Today, Platinum and I split up. He led the adventurers and the loyal assassins to the front lines. Those of us who were 'unvalued,' or simply tired of being dogs, were assigned to guard the perimeter and make sure no one interfered with the battlefield."
The Blood Knight's voice was low. "I remember you. Two years ago, at the Knights' Exchange Conference, you were wanted for accidentally killing a knight of the Chamber of Commerce... I didn't expect you to joined the Armorless Union. What are you planning to do now?"
"I surrender."
At the mention of his past, Darksteel's lips twitched, but he quickly steadied himself and raised both hands. "The Armorless Union is already a candle in the wind. For me, and for the assassins who follow me, none of us want to sink into silence along with the collapsing Chamber of Commerce."
"Even if you stop us today, even if you wipe us out, the Chamber of Commerce won't rise again. I'm just an ordinary person. Call me a fence-sitter or a traitor if you want. I just want to keep living."
The Blood Knight lowered his weapon. "Your future will be decided by His Highness."
Darksteel exhaled deeply. "Thank you, Blood Knight."
Without another word, the Blood Knight brushed past him and charged into the encampment.
Darksteel lowered his weapon and looked toward the assassins who had cautiously emerged. Their masks were gone, and their crossbows were nowhere to be seen. After receiving a promise that was not quite a promise, something seemed to loosen within them. Under Darksteel's lead, they withdrew quietly without further interference.
On the battlefield, the infected knights were no match for Platinum assassin lurking in the shadows. Each strike claimed a life. Yet the infected knights showed no fear, charging forward relentlessly to clash with the bounty hunters and raiders rushing toward them.
Inside the abandoned buildings, players from Tomorrow's Development quickly spotted the hidden figures of the Armorless Union. They swiftly relayed maps and intelligence to the main force, then drew their weapons and charged.
"Mom!"
"Damn it, that's a top-tier Tomorrow's Development player with a legendary weapon. I'm done for!"
"Is Darksteel an idiot? How did he let them in?"
"I'm done!"
Faced with the risk of losing experience and equipment, some Armorless Union players chose to immediately enter the bounty system upon encountering Tomorrow's Development players. They knew they were no match for professionals and high-level players. Rather than being hunted down or humiliated here, they preferred to cash out directly. It was the last day, after all, and compared to money, survival mattered more.
Others were unwilling to give up so easily. The Armorless Union only paid rewards upon receiving photos of corpses, and the images they had taken of infected knights were blurry due to distance. The kills couldn't be properly counted. With bounties set at fifty thousand for an infected knight and one hundred thousand for a regular knight, the Chamber of Commerce had clearly gone all in.
Money was a powerful temptation. As some players hesitated, others, especially bounty hunters blinded by greed, pressed forward.
Those who had never seen such sums before were already beyond reason.
Platinum quickly noticed the disturbance in the neighboring building. He knew it was only a matter of time before his companions were discovered. Earlier, he had deliberately stationed adventurers inside several buildings belonging to the knight clubs on the outer edge of the defensive line, clearly intending to use them as expendable pawns. Hearing the noise grow closer, Platinum pulled the trigger once more, then slung the crossbow over his shoulder.
"Prepare to withdraw."
"But boss, the mission isn't finished yet, is it?"
"Did you get the photos I asked for?" Platinum asked calmly.
"They're crystal clear."
"Good. Go back to the Armorless Union, exchange them for money, then go home, pack your things, and get ready to run."
Platinum had always been generous to his long-time subordinates. He spoke evenly, "Take the money and leave Kawalerielki."
The assassins exchanged glances, then nodded.
"As for the bounty hunters and raiders, that's none of our concern. Their only role is to delay the knights' counterattack…"
Mid-sentence, Platinum raised his crossbow, aimed forward, and pulled the trigger without hesitation.
Bang!
A flash of sword light split the bolt in two. A head of long, golden hair appeared briefly before vanishing back into the darkness. When the Platinum saw the newcomer, his fingers trembled slightly, and he forced a grin.
"So it's Lady Russell. Do you really have any interest in drawing your sword against a pack of stray dogs like us?"
"What?" Lady Russell's voice was cold. "You thought you could commit all these crimes, take the money, and disappear without consequence?"
"Is that not acceptable?"
"Do you want me to die together with the Chamber of Commerce?" Platinum shouted.
"I never said that." Lady Russell tightened her grip on her longsword, and an invisible sword aura began to surge through the building. Behind her, fifty knights stood in formation, their weapons gleaming with cold light. "Everyone has the right to choose. I won't condemn your choice, but everyone must pay the price for it."
Platinum's expression darkened. In the next instant, Lady Russell struck.
The crossbow let out a harsh creak, and Platinum's arms went numb from the impact. He dared not prolong the fight, nor did he dare remain entangled with Lady Russell. She had once been a famed knight throughout Kazimierz, while he was nothing more than a lowly assassin, utterly unfit to face her head-on.
With that thought, Platinum rolled across the ground, pulled an explosive device from his pocket, and slammed it down. A violent blast followed, and his figure vanished into the depths of the building.
Smoke rapidly spread across the lower floor, obscuring everything. Only the sound of hurried footsteps echoed as they faded into the distance.
"Send men to capture them. The remaining Silverlance Pegasi, advance to the front lines," Lady Russell ordered. "It's time to end this war that never should have begun."
"Yes!"
The remaining assassins collapsed to the ground in despair. Perhaps the Platinum could have held his own against Lady Russell for a short time, but for these minor figures, surviving without being cut down in a single strike was already a stroke of luck.
Faced with the advancing knights, they dared not resist and knelt to surrender.
"My lady, shall we continue pursuing the Platinum assassin?"
"Kawalerielki is under martial law," Lady Russell replied. "Tomorrow's Development has reached an agreement with us to help clear the territory. He won't escape."
At that moment, thunderous cheers erupted from the direction of the Grand Arena. Lady Russell stood by the window and looked toward the distant lights, recalling the words Felix had once said to her.
___
"The Chamber of Commerce will not truly end. It won't disappear, and Kazimierz cannot function without it. For a century, it has monopolized all imports and exports, propping up Kazimierz's economic system. If it vanished overnight, the economy and currency would collapse. What is frustrating, yet reassuring, is that the Chamber of Commerce will never fully disappear. A century of accumulation means you can only strip away its surface power."
"You can't eradicate the Chamber of Commerce completely, and Kazimierz can't do without it. But you can infiltrate it, participate in its trade and economic systems, and reshape it from within."
Russell was not only a knight, but also one of the leaders of Kazimierz's Adeptus Sprawiedliwi. She had never viewed the world in simple black and white. She deeply agreed with Felix's assessment. Kazimierz would face a period of internal turmoil, and all she hoped was that the Adeptus Sprawiedliwi could hold firm on the diplomatic front, while the knights at the front lines defended their ground and safeguarded Kazimierz's borders against the looming cold war with Ursus.
___
Ten minutes earlier, Maria and Margaret had already exchanged hundreds of blows. There had been no savage clashes or bloodshed, yet the two sisters were in far worse condition than the audience had imagined.
Margaret was the one at a disadvantage.
Having come from the same school and trained together for years, she was intimately familiar with Maria's past swordsmanship. Maria was still using the Nearl family's techniques, yet she constantly altered her rhythm, weaving feints and variations into every exchange. This forced Margaret to look at her from an entirely new perspective.
'She is my younger sister, and also a knight worthy of respect. Stripped of the Nearl name, she is simply Maria. Just Maria.'
Brilliant light rose on both sides of the battlefield. Margaret's radiance gathered around her lance, while Maria stood bathed in pure light. Without even realizing it, Maria's wounds began to mend, and the pallor on her cheeks gradually faded, restoring their natural glow.
"I once wanted to pierce the long night of Kazimierz by myself. I once foolishly believed that the power of the arena alone could shake that gray, oppressive society. But now, I'm glad," Margaret said softly. "I'm happy to see more and more knights returning to the right path, and more and more of them standing with us as comrades who share the same ideals."
As if her words themselves strengthened her resolve, Margaret tightened her grip on the radiance in her hand. "Maria, I am honored to fight you. And in the future, I will fight alongside you."
"Elder sister."
Maria smiled. "Fighting alongside you has always been a dream of mine. But standing against you like this fills me with true joy, because it means I finally have the right to face you as an equal. Brother Felix once told me that to walk this land, one must have strength. I don't need to prove anything anymore, and I don't need to follow anyone. I simply love knights. I want to be a knight, to wield my sword on this land, and to show others the dazzling knightly spirit of Kazimierz. From now on, I will not retreat."
She clenched the two-handed sword with both hands, took a deep breath, and raised it beside her ears. Dense light gathered along the blade.
Margaret smiled. Maria truly had nothing left to prove. She was already a knight the Nearl family could take pride in. But this match still required a victor. Once, Margaret might not have cared about the outcome, having already achieved her goals, including paving the way for Tomorrow's Development. Yet under Maria's burning gaze, a long-forgotten flame ignited within her.
Yes. Maria wanted to give everything she had. And at this moment, holding back would be the greatest disrespect.
"…Oh sun, bow to me!."
A violent surge of solar radiance erupted from her lance. In the next instant, a pair of golden pegasus wings manifested behind Margaret, unfurling slowly as blinding light flooded the arena. The audience instinctively squinted and, at Mob's urging, put on the sunglasses prepared by the organizers.
"Light, heed me!"
Maria lifted her sword high above her head as a tremendous radiance gathered upon it.
Then, the light condensed into a shockwave that crashed down upon the battered land, while Margaret's lance was hurled forward, transforming into a blazing shooting star that chased after the radiance.
The light converged, forming a brilliance as dazzling as the Knight Maria.