The crowd's faces turned deathly pale as they watched skeletons burst from the ground and stream into the Magic Barrier cast by the White Rose Flower. Astonishment and fear were written in their eyes.
"Th-This!? How is this possible?"
"Why are they able to get inside? Shouldn't the White Rose Flower have stopped them?"
"Dammit! Those Skeletons are all former Oath Knights! Who did this? Who stole their remains from the cemetery?"
"Only the higher-ups of the great clans know the location of the Guardian Knights' burial ground, and you need the Guardian's key to even enter."
"Someone has betrayed us! They gave the bones of the Oath Knights to a vile Necromancer!"
"Bastards! Those Skeletons are after Roxia! Quick! Stop the Oath Knight selection ceremony!"
"It's impossible! We can't interfere with the White Rose Ceremony. Roxia would have to leave the arena on her own, but that means she'd forfeit her chance to become an Oath Knight…"
The crowd's faces went ashen. They were utterly helpless against the intruding Skeletons.
All they could do was watch as seven skeletons—the remains of former Oath Knights—closed in on Roxia.
The Knights of the Yerman Clan charged the edge of the Magic Barrier, trying to smash their way through. However, an invisible force sent them flying, and they crashed to the ground, crying out in agony.
'This is bad!'
Roxia bit her lip, a troubled expression clouding her cool, beautiful features.
The Skeletons closing in on her were all former Oath Knights, who in life had been among the most powerful warriors in Sunset City. Though death had greatly diminished their combat strength, they were still far beyond what a novice Knight like Roxia could handle.
With the two phantoms created by the White Rose Flower also in the mix, the situation was dire. No matter how talented she was, she felt powerless, caught between a rock and a hard place.
'What should I do?'
Roxia tightened her grip on the Oath Sword, her eyes glinting.
'Do I really have to give up?'
'But I can't accept this!'
'The Oath Knight selection only happened once every twenty years. If I miss this, it will be the only chance I ever have!'
'What's more, the prosperity of the Yerman Clan rests on my shoulders. If I give up, everything I want to protect will turn to dust.'
"It's not time to give up yet!"
Roxia took a deep breath, trying to calm herself.
The light in her eyes hardened with resolve. Gripping the Oath Sword with both hands, she prepared to face the Undead Oath Knights closing in.
"Mr. Su Xuan, this…"
Sitting in the stands, Natasha looked at Su Xuan anxiously, her beautiful eyes filled with worry.
The White Rose Flower prevented the Knights from crossing the Magic Barrier to fight off the Skeletons threatening Roxia, leaving her in grave danger.
Now, her only hope was Su Xuan!
Or rather, from the very beginning, she had firmly believed that Su Xuan was the only one who could save Roxia!
"Don't worry, Lady Natasha. Rosaline is on the move."
Su Xuan reassured Natasha, gesturing for her to remain calm.
He had just carefully observed the group of Undead Skeletons converted from Oath Knights. Their Levels seemed to be suppressed at 16, and most of their Attributes were lower than Rosaline's. Only the one with deep-black bones had slightly higher Attributes. 'Therefore, with her abilities, Rosaline has a chance of taking on all seven of them!'
Although Rosaline had lost her memory, her skeletal frame had instinctively leaned forward the moment she saw Roxia in danger, eager to rush in and save her niece.
He was full of confidence in Rosaline. Even facing seven Oath Knights of comparable strength, he firmly believed she could win!
Besides, Rosaline just needed to keep the seven Oath Knights from interfering with Roxia. Once Roxia passed the trial, this whole conspiracy would fall apart.
"Go! Rosaline!"
Su Xuan cheered Rosaline on. "Smash them!"
[Cheer: All Attributes +10% (Duration: 30 minutes)]
"Mm!"
Rosaline replied softly, her figure instantly blurring as she shot toward Roxia like a cheetah.
Seeing Rosaline's fighting spirit, Su Xuan smiled in satisfaction.
'Looks like what they said on the game forums is true,' he thought. 'My cheer really does ignite an Adventurer's passion and Power…'
'Wait!'
Su Xuan was suddenly startled.
'Did Rosaline just speak?'
Before Su Xuan could process it, gasps of surprise erupted from the crowd.
"Look! A Knight in a White Robe is charging toward the selection grounds!"
"She's so fast!"
"Is she going to save Roxia?"
"Impossible! The White Rose's Magic Power is blocking the way; there's no way she can get in! Tell Roxia to give up! She can't throw her life away for a dream!"
The crowd was baffled by Rosaline's appearance. They couldn't understand what she was trying to do.
The rules of the White Rose Ceremony left them in despair. They couldn't imagine any way to break what seemed to be Roxia's 'certain defeat'!
But amid the chorus of doubt, Rosaline broke through the Magic Barrier created by the White Rose and raced toward Roxia.
The sight plunged the entire arena into silence. And then…
"Holy shit!? How did she do that?"
"Could there be an Oath Knight still alive in the world?"
"Impossible! The previous Oath Knights are all resting peacefully in the cemetery. Only Knight Rosaline's body was lost in that shipwreck!"
"Could it be… Knight Rosaline?"
"Absolutely impossible! That shipwreck claimed most of the Yerman Clan's elite! Even the Patriarch and the Oath Knight perished. If anyone had survived, we would have heard something in the last ten years!"
"Then how did she do it? How did she break the rules of the White Rose Ceremony and get into the selection grounds?"
Cries of shock rolled through the air like waves as the crowd struggled to understand how the white-robed Knight had entered the selection grounds.
Rosaline, of course, offered no answer to the crowd's confusion. She drew the sword from her waist, her movements as swift as a swallow, and in the blink of an eye, she was on the battlefield beside Roxia.
"You?"
Roxia's beautiful eyes widened in shock.
She knew, of course, that this white-robed Knight was the Adventurer her Aunt Natasha had hired, but she had no idea how she'd gotten in here.
'Wait!'
Roxia suddenly recalled what Natasha had said before—that this adventurer had met her aunt…
'Could it be?'
CLANG!
Before Roxia could snap out of her daze, Rosaline's sword swung down, striking with precision at a Skeleton that was attacking her.
The ringing of steel on bone exploded next to her ear as a terrifying gust of wind from the sword blow swept the area. The force of it sent Roxia staggering back several steps before she could regain her footing.
'So strong!'
Roxia's pupils contracted in shock.
The White Robe Knight's combat Power was far beyond what she had anticipated.
She was certain there was no one this powerful in Sunset City today. Unless… unless it was just as Natasha had said, and this white-robed Knight truly was her aunt.
Just as Roxia's mind was reeling, another biting gust of wind from a sword strike tore past, carrying with it an unparalleled Power that ripped Rosaline's White Robe to shreds. It revealed a suit of one-of-a-kind, White Gold armor that gleamed under the Sunshine, exposing its wearer's true identity for all the world to see.