I'm on the Ark, and I start out as Gretchen.

Unfortunately, none of them triggered any special missions until this morning.

As for why Dai'e felt it was a pity, the reason is simple... because she was really bored. Apart from training and meeting up with friends every day, all she had to do was watch those competitions that she couldn't look forward to at all.

That's why she's hoping to trigger some challenging tasks. But as it stands, it's still something that can't be forced.

"Ugh……"

With a soft sigh, Bianca stretched and quickly got out of bed. After all, she didn't have the bad habit of sleeping in, and it was almost time for breakfast anyway.

However, not long after the silly goose got up and washed up, a knock on the door suddenly rang out...

"咚咚-"

"...?"

The moment she heard the knock on the door, Bianca's expression changed, and she paused in her actions.

Although the door hadn't been opened yet, and she hadn't asked who it was, based on her experience and intuition... there was an 80% chance it was still those guys.

Sure enough, a muffled sound, muffled by the sound coming through the door, entered the room.

"Miss Bianca, are you there? I'm a staff member of the Knights' Association, here to inform you of something."

“?????”

"...Yes, just a moment."

After giving a somewhat reluctant reply, Bianca quickened her washing up, wanting to see what the reason or excuse was for contacting her this time.

Only one night later, someone came looking for them. Dai'e couldn't help but suspect their intentions. Rather than an announcement, it seemed more like a test.

……

"Kacha——"

After washing up, Bianca checked her clothes before walking to the door and opening the hotel room door.

"What's going on with the Knights' Association?"

As she spoke, Bianca was also silently observing the group of men in work uniforms in front of her.

After confirming that the man in front of her was just an ordinary employee, she quietly withdrew her gaze.

After hearing Bianca's question, the staff member did not hesitate and respectfully explained:

"It's like this, Miss Bianca. You've advanced in this elimination round and will be able to participate in the tournament soon. However, as an Independent Knight, there are some requirements that I need to inform you of."

"That means you'll need to join a knight order or a family to represent them in the upcoming matches."

"Okay, I understand. Is there anything else?"

After listening to the explanation from the person in front of her, Bianca raised her eyebrows slightly with a strange look in her eyes before continuing to ask questions.

Clearly, the silly goose had no idea that this was really just a notification...

"That's all. This is the notice the Knights Association sent me to deliver to you."

"Ah."

……

"boom……"

After seeing the Knights Guild member off, Bianca closed the door to her room, a hint of conflict flashing in her azure eyes.

Although she was surprised that it wasn't a test, she was more concerned about the competition rules.

Dai'e was naturally aware of this rule, but whether to temporarily join a knightly order or create her own right now... she hadn't decided yet.

As for family... she never considered it from the beginning. She wasn't a local, so why would she join any family?

Therefore, Bianca really hates this kind of formalism. Why insist on having this empty title when you can just participate directly in the competition? It's not like you can't win...

However, the tournament was still a long way off, so Bianca wasn't in a rush. She planned to consult Zofia, who had more experience in this area, before making a decision.

-------------------

Outskirts of the Great Knight's Territory

"..."

Looking at the scene before him, Qingjin Roy could not hide the shock in his eyes.

A large section of the suburban forest has been completely leveled, the trees reduced to wood chips... and familiar corpses can still be seen here and there on the cratered ground...

To be honest, Roy, who had gone through a lot of trouble to find clues and finally arrived here, never expected to see such a scene.

Because his "prey" had already safely returned to the city, he had guessed that Xuan Tiewei might have been seriously injured, and even predicted his death...

However, sometimes death and the manner of death cannot be compared... Who kills some people and blows up half a forest?

"..."

After calming his complicated feelings and expression, Roy cautiously and warily made his way towards the destroyed area.

He now needed to confirm whether his superior, one of the three Xuan Tie Grand Masters of the Wuzhou Alliance, was still alive. After all, he needed to see him alive or dead, otherwise he wouldn't be able to explain himself.

However, as Roy slowly approached, more and more details came into view. At the same time, he became increasingly alarmed…

However, he soon noticed a detail: although there were many corpses on the ground, they could be broadly divided into two categories. Most of them resembled "impact injuries," where people were smashed to pieces.

In rare cases, the cause of death is a clean, sharp knife wound to a vulnerable part of the body.

As Roy continued his journey, he finally saw the Xuan Tie position he had been searching for...

"hiss--"

However, the way his superior looked at that moment made Qingjin gasp, and even sent a chill down his spine.

QQ group: 543659389%

The usually serious, even terrifying, Xuan Tie Dawei was lying headless on the ground, his body twisted and grotesque from the damage.

His head, which looked puzzled and astonished, rolled to a spot not far away, looking at his own twisted body.

In this somewhat eerie scene, a small blue flower on the ground still blooms.

It displays its beauty and vibrancy.

P.S.: I've been experiencing some lag lately, so updates have been less frequent, and I haven't posted anything. I promised the group members tonight that I'd really resume normal updates tomorrow. I'll try my best to post two updates, even if it kills me. That's all for now, see you all tomorrow.

Chapter 40 Roy's Guesses and the Gathering

Upon seeing the corpse of his own Xuan Tie Da Shi, Roy suppressed his unease and observed and analyzed the situation before leaving. As he left, he didn't forget to take the Forget-Me-Not that seemed out of place with its surroundings.

His intuition told him that this flower must be related to the two people who caused the current situation.

As for why there were two people, it was because Roy had observed them beforehand. If the few people he had recently seen who were killed with a single blow led him to this assumption...

Then, the severely damaged and twisted corpse of the Xuan Tie Dawei, and the incongruously neat cut surface of his neck and head, further reinforced this idea.

While it cannot be ruled out that Bianca used a knife-like weapon and was extremely skilled at it, Roy himself is more inclined to believe that there was another person involved.

It wasn't just because of the flower he had never seen before, but also because of an intuition—the intuition of a "martial artist."

Of course, these were just thoughts in Roy's mind. After all, he was just a "blue gold" worker, a lowly laborer. He should report these things to his superiors and let them decide and handle them.

However, after this incident, Roy secretly labeled Bianca as someone not to be trifled with.

He may be an assassin, but he's just an assassin who does it for money. It's not right to risk your life for money or a so-called mission.

Thinking about it, Roy quickened his pace on the way back.

—————————————————————

At a suitable time, Bianca bought some food and then went to Bald Martin's tavern a few days later.

It was fine before Maria brought the goose to the tavern, but ever since she did, they've had many gatherings there, and it's practically become their meeting place.

However, the tavern owner, bald Martin, didn't have any objections; on the contrary, he quite welcomed these younger girls to gather at his place.

After all, in his opinion, watching young people having a lively gathering was much more pleasing to the eye than watching two old men drinking and making a ruckus every day.

……

"Hey, Bianca is here so early again today."

Upon opening the tavern door, Maria was greeted by Bianca helping bald Martin.

She then put down what she was holding and walked towards the two of them, asking as she went, "Is there anything I can help you with?"

“No need, Maria, please sit down over there. I can help Uncle Martin with this; it’ll be done quickly.” Upon hearing this, Bianca looked up, gently shook her head in Maria’s direction, and said with a smile.

"Haha, yes, Bianca is strong, she'll be done quickly. Maria, you don't need to come." After hearing Bianca's words, bald Martin laughed and added.

"OK then."

Since both parties had said so, Maria didn't intend to go up and cause trouble. However, she didn't leave either, but stood aside and quietly watched the blonde girl with a serious expression.

If someone were to observe carefully at this moment, they would notice a faint look of confusion in the foal's golden eyes.

"Kacha——"

Just when the atmosphere inside was still quite pleasant, the door opened again, and Zofia walked in.

"!"

Startled by the sound of the door opening, Maria, who had been somewhat dazed, quickly averted her gaze, then turned to look at the person who had entered, and said, "Aunt Zofia... Sister! I didn't expect you to arrive so quickly."

"...?"

After listening to Maria's words and seeing her expression, Zofia raised an eyebrow slightly, a look of suspicion appearing on her face.

"Ahem... Alright, I bought some food, Zofia-neechan, come and sit down." Maria couldn't help but cough twice, feeling a little embarrassed as her aunt stared at her.

"Um……"

Although Zofia was still somewhat puzzled by Maria's behavior, she didn't press the matter. Instead, she went along with someone's wishes and sat down at the table.

After all, children also need some privacy and secrets.

What? You're asking how Zofia knew?

Putting aside the fact that her own child knows about this, Maria's face practically screams "I have something on my mind, a secret"...

If Zofia still can't see it in this situation, then she would have wasted the years she spent with and taking care of Maria.

……