Meanwhile, back on the battlefield, Silver Knight stared at the still indifferent-looking Don Quixote in front of him and quietly exhaled.
Just before the match began, he'd received a strange order.
Special instructions for the match weren't rare, nor did they particularly surprise him—but the contents were odd this time.
Not asking him to fix the fight, just instructing him to stall for as long as possible. Drag it out however he could.
In short, don't let this match end quickly.
Strange request…but he still had to take it seriously.
Silver Knight thought this, then lifted his gaze toward Don Quixote and earnestly raised his weapon.
Meanwhile, earlier at the Armorless Union, several people were closely examining intel submitted by Red Wine News.
"Should we handle it?"
"If she's already come to this land, then she must be prepared for us to deal with her. She's here incognito, which benefits us."
A seated figure spoke with firm confidence:
"Since she dared come alone and hide her identity, if we quietly remove her, it won't provoke a reaction from the Nearl family."
"The only thing left to worry about is the La Mancha Knight accompanying her… His strength is still unclear, but judging by recent performances, we should be able to handle him."
"Just make sure those two aren't together when fighting. Meaning—carefully draw that La Mancha Knight away, stall him as long as possible during his match, then after we've dealt with Nearl, we'll figure out how to handle him afterward."
"Taking them down one by one is always simpler."
After a moment, everyone else in the room nodded. Finally, the person at the head slowly spoke:
"Then…it's settled. Now, let's decide who's going to carry out the assassination."
In the end, it still fell to me.
Aqing pulled the bowstring taut, staring at Nearl, who had removed her mask. After completely confirming the target, he softly sighed.
In the end, it always comes down to me doing the dirty work… Ahh, whatever. The sooner I finish, the sooner I can head back. This mission sure is a headache.
The one in front of him would be a bit tricky, even for him. Never mind if Platinum were here—oh right, Platinum wasn't even in Kazimierz now. After being sent to the City, who knew what she was doing or where she was. She hadn't made contact in a long time…
Where exactly did that girl disappear to? Ever since she vanished after going to the City, Aqing's workload had suddenly ballooned to an annoying extent.
Aqing thought silently to himself—but his complaints stopped there.
The arrow, already on the string, had to fly.
In an instant, the arrow shot forth.
He quickly lowered the bow. Nearl seemed oblivious, continuing forward as if nothing had happened.
Then the arrow pierced through her chest. After confirming the hit, Aqing swiftly raised his bow again, knocking another arrow.
Alright—use this momentum to finish it in one go…!
Aqing exhaled softly, thinking quietly to himself. At the same time, Nearl felt something pierce directly through her back. Blood surged up her throat, spilling from her mouth, consciousness fading fast. Forcing herself to stay awake, she turned around, spotting a faint glint of an arrow in a corner.
What's going on…an assassination?
Nearl struggled desperately to remain alert, gathering her strength to stagger aside, pulling out the blood-red spear from her back.
An assassination by the Armorless Union… but why…?
Was I too careless? Did something give me away? Could it have been my fighting style or technique…?
Blood streamed from her back, leaving a long trail. Severely wounded by the sudden sneak attack, Nearl's movements were already greatly restricted. She painfully raised her spear, barely deflecting the next arrow aimed at her face—but at the cost of the projectile piercing straight through her arm.
"It's over," Aqing murmured, preparing to draw his bow for the third time.
But at that very moment, something completely unexpected occurred.
A blood-red spear suddenly flew through the air, and an intense premonition of death surged through Aqing's mind. In that instant, he felt nothing but bone-deep chill… Without hesitation, he abandoned his arrow, desperately rolling aside—but even then, the spear tore into him, leaving a severe wound. Without another thought, he fled immediately, bolting down the nearest path.
What the hell just happened?
His mind reeled in panic.
He glanced back briefly, catching sight of a white-haired man casting a casual glance in his direction. Aqing didn't dare linger, sprinting madly away, worsening his injuries without care.
Could it be… even Silver Knight couldn't stall for that short amount of time…?
Aqing could only imagine what had happened. And in fact, his guess wasn't far from the truth.
Silver Knight had indeed fallen after barely two minutes. After that, Hai and Don Quixote immediately went searching for Nearl—but what they found was the scene before them now…
"What should we do now?" Hai asked, brows furrowed, looking at Nearl. "This could be troublesome. I didn't bring any Ampoules. By the time I get them here, it might already be too late…"
Don Quixote's eyes flickered slightly. Nearl felt her consciousness fading further. Her vision gradually blurred as she gazed toward Don Quixote, even her thoughts becoming hazy.
She felt herself losing blood rapidly…like she was dying.
No, rather, isn't this exactly how it feels when someone is about to die…?
Even breathing felt beyond her strength now, an overwhelming dizziness consuming her. She wanted to speak, but it was impossibly difficult.
"Those bastards…"
Don Quixote clenched his teeth, fists tightening for an instant before quickly releasing again. Hai glanced at him, softly sighing.
Who'd have guessed things would end this strangely…
Hai felt the unnamed, repressed fury from Don Quixote and slowly folded his hands. Though it was unexpected…
The emotion of rage had been harvested.
"…Hai, listen."
In the end, Don Quixote relaxed his clenched fists, speaking softly:
"I might…still have a way to save my retainer…"
"And after this, if conflict arises with Kazimierz, whose side will the City take?"