Chapter 48: The Awakened Knight
Su Xiao walked out of the cave. Opportunities to gain benefits without lifting a finger were rare, so he was in a good mood.
Amu, following behind Su Xiao, seemed to want to say something but hesitated.
Seeing Amu's expression, Su Xiao stopped. This was the first time he had seen Amu show any initiative toward puzzle-solving.
"Amu, do you have a question?"
If it could improve Amu's thinking ability, Su Xiao didn't mind explaining how he had observed, guessed, and deciphered the mechanisms earlier.
"Amu is hungry."
"..."
Su Xiao continued walking forward, and Amu behind him looked innocent.
Just as he stepped out of the cave, a prompt from Reincarnation Paradise appeared.
[Prompt: The World War has ended.]
[Void Tree is notarizing...]
[Announcement: Large-scale spatial fixed coordinates have been established. Coordinate owner: Reincarnation Paradise.]
[World Core fusing...]
[Fusion complete. This world has been incorporated into Reincarnation Paradise. Uses: Trials, assessments, contractor rank breakthroughs, etc.]
[War Result: Victory!]
[Friendly forces: 1 person.]
[Preparing teleportation. Location: Reincarnation Paradise.]
[Due to the establishment of a 'Large-scale spatial fixed coordinate' in this world, this teleportation will bypass the 'Star Transit Station' and return directly to Reincarnation Paradise.]
[Teleportation begins. The Hunter must prepare.]
...
Su Xiao's body gradually became transparent and finally disappeared, as did Bubu Wang, Amu, Beini, and Baha.
Inside the base camp's bug nest, Jila, who was engrossed in a mobile game, seemed to sense something. A binding force within her gradually dissipated.
Jila reached out her hand, as if trying to grasp something. Only then did she understand a certain sentence Su Xiao had said before.
"If you are strong enough, I will show you a different world. Right now, you are too weak. That is the world of the strong."
...
Void, Black Abyss Shallow Layer, Black Wind Gobi.
Tall earthen buildings had collapsed. This was once the home of a group of dwarf clansmen, but now their dwellings were destroyed, and their precious crops were trampled.
Thousands of dwarf clan corpses were scattered around. A man in full black armor, holding a long staff, stood among the corpses. The man's visor concealed his face; he didn't even have a name, only being called No. 1045.
"Stop... they are... innocent."
A weak voice came from beneath the building ruins. It was the blood-faced King of Knights, the broken 'Victory and Oath Sword' lying beside her.
"You have disappointed us."
No. 1045 spoke as his iron-booted foot stepped on a half-dead dwarf.
"Al...toria, don't... feel guilty. Don't... blame yourself... for our deaths. We once... stole..."
Crack!
The dwarf was crushed to pieces by No. 1045's foot, blood splattering. Seeing this, the King of Knights' eyes gradually widened, her pupils contracting. This was despair from the depths of her heart.
"Don't... continue anymore."
The King of Knights spoke softly. A few days ago, she had made a huge mistake. She had suddenly softened during a mission. She should have been forcibly executed, but the Toad had used his authority to protect her.
"This has nothing to do with you. A few years ago, these little things stole my sword."
No. 1045 stood before the King of Knights.
"The next one to die is your close friend, Tani Leopold. Do you want to save her?"
"Yes."
"Good. I'll give you 15 days. In 15 days, I will go to kill her. Before that, kill me. If you can kill me, there is no one you cannot slay. A sword can be reforged, but when your heart is not firm enough, a sharp blade cannot cut down enemies."
No. 1045 turned and walked away, leaving the stunned King of Knights behind.
The Toad was her half-master, and the other half was No. 1045, a madman who had lived for over 400 years and could only feel his own existence through slaughter.
No. 1045 was right. As long as the King of Knights could slay this clone of his, there would be no one she couldn't kill, and she would no longer show mercy to anyone.
On a distant high slope, the Toad, holding a wine bottle as tall as himself, burst into laughter.
"Indeed, I was too soft before. The little cutie still needs some proper training. No. 1045, in two days, go kidnap her close friend Tani. What will the little cutie do? Truly exciting, gahahahaha..."
Among the ruins, the King of Knights stood up from the ground. She was no longer confused.
"15 days... My power is to protect those I care about. This world is cruel. Absolute justice is just a fantasy. I have walked out of 'that place.' I will no longer be bound by 'those things.'"
The King of Knights pulled out the broken sword. Unbeknownst to her, her pupils had turned pale gold. At that moment, she was reborn.
...
[Teleportation completed. The Hunter has returned to the Exclusive Room.]
[Prompt: The Hunter holds a large amount of merit. Rewards corresponding to the merit amount will be granted.]
[Current Merit: 3835 points.]
[Merit conversion in progress...]
[Hunter's ability assessment in progress...]
[Assessment complete. Rewards with high compatibility for the Hunter have been drafted.]
[The Hunter receives the following rewards.]
A: 42 True Attribute Points
...
B: Golden Skill Point ×2
...
C: Soul Crystal (Complete) ×65
...
D: Honor Medal Rank Promotion
Prompt: After the Hunter eliminates the Violator, they will receive a [Diamond Honor Medal]. The Honor Shop rank will be increased by two tiers.
...
E: Melee Combat Grandmaster Trial Certificate
Prompt: After the Hunter enters the Trial Grounds and holds this certificate, they can undergo a 10 to 15-hour overload trial, which can raise the Melee Combat Basic Ability to Grandmaster level between Lv.12 and Lv.20.
...
A total of five rewards. Without a doubt, this was the most True Attribute Points Su Xiao had ever obtained.
Golden Skill Points were also rare and valuable treasures, used to break through ability caps.
As for the Honor Medal Rank Promotion, it increased the rewards for Su Xiao's Hunter missions. It wouldn't show much in the short term, but it was hugely beneficial for long-term development.
As for the 65 Soul Crystals (Complete), they seemed less than what Death Paradise and Apocalypse Paradise had offered, but when factoring in the 'Melee Combat Grandmaster Trial Certificate', it was a different story.
After activating the 'Melee Combat Grandmaster Trial Certificate', Su Xiao's Melee Combat ability could be raised to Grandmaster level within 10 to 15 hours. The process would likely be extremely unpleasant, but the result was satisfying.
Consider this: how many Soul Crystals + Paradise Coins would a Grandmaster-level ability require? And that's not even mentioning Grandmaster level Lv.12 to Lv.20.
This reward was more generous than Apocalypse Paradise's Soul Crystal (Complete) ×105!
When Su Xiao fought enemies, he didn't only use his blade techniques. He often used moves like side kicks to maintain distance or cause limb numbness through kicks.
Through training with Sha, Su Xiao's Melee Combat Basic Ability was: Melee Combat Specialization Lv.57.
Specialization, Master, Grandmaster—these were two major rank increases. Once he had a Melee Combat Grandmaster-level ability, Su Xiao's blade techniques would become much more flexible.
Su Xiao had long realized that these two abilities complemented each other. Unfortunately, he couldn't afford the cost of raising both basic abilities, so he had relied on Sha's training to improve his Melee Combat ability.
Now, Reincarnation Paradise's reward solved this problem for Su Xiao. A Grandmaster-level ability reward was far from comparable to a few chests or basic permissions.