Asura in Arknights

"Make your choice, Valcke."

"I……"

……

In a dark space, Lynn stared at several blurry figures in front of him, looking puzzled.

"Why me?" he asked.

"This is your punishment, and also your last chance. You will be forbidden from stepping into the tower until you complete the mission."

"But even the knights failed; I am no match for them."

"It doesn't require you to defeat or capture them; the Tower only requires you to..."

“Find them.”

……

The bright moonlight shone on the earth, and a somewhat dirty-looking SUV was speeding northwest.

After glancing at Li Ang, who was fast asleep in the back seat, Adele silently made a decision in her heart.

Volume One - End

<The Unawakened Dream>

Chapter One: Journey Through the Wasteland

The scenery on the wasteland is always so monotonous. If it weren't for the fact that the car beneath their feet is moving at high speed, they might even have the illusion that they are not moving at all.

Occasionally, one can see some huge, dilapidated buildings in the wilderness. Judging from their architectural style and weathering marks, they do not seem to be products of this era at all.

Humans only became capable of building structures of this scale after the advent of mobile cities. Before that, they had neither the ability nor the possibility of building such things on the wasteland; if a natural disaster struck, everything would be over.

Adele didn't know much about this, but it was said that these colossal buildings were remnants of ancient civilizations and were coveted by various powers.

They always manage to find something useful in them; some of Letania's current technology was unearthed from these ruins.

This has given rise to a profession that is nominally called 'explorer' but is actually 'treasure hunter'.

The fact that this technology relies on archaeology left Li Ang speechless. Coupled with the omnipotent nature of Originium Arts, it's no wonder that the technology tree in this world is so skewed, and the gap between different countries is even greater than that between time travel.

Li Ang couldn't help but wonder: had he traveled through time, or had he woken up in the future, countless years after human civilization had been destroyed? Before he traveled through time, this kind of plot seemed to be quite popular.

However, Li Ang quickly abandoned this pointless idea. Even if he figured it out, what difference would it make? The most important thing was to focus on the present.

“Adele, where are we now?” Leon asked.

Upon hearing Li Ang's voice, Adele, who was driving, twitched her ears, seemingly reluctant to answer Li Ang's question.

After a long pause, Adele said somewhat reluctantly in a low voice, "We... are about to enter Kazimierz."

"Oh, I see... I can finally relax."

Li Ang was already used to Adele's subtle attitude.

Ever since that day when he was in a daze and accidentally let slip his inner thoughts, Adele's attitude towards him has been somewhat strange.

After regaining his senses, even Li Ang himself felt extremely embarrassed.

Was that a confession? That definitely counts as a confession, right? Li Ang wasn't even prepared to confess, so how did he accidentally blurt it out?

After Li Ang woke up, Adele didn't show any particular reaction. She continued to take care of Li Ang as usual, but she subtly avoided his questions, as if she was expressing her refusal.

If Li Ang hadn't been able to sense Adele's emotions, he might have actually been fooled by her.

It can only be said that the timing of Li Ang's words was terrible. Adele's family had just suffered a huge change, and she herself was wanted by a country. Even if she did have some feelings for Li Ang, Li Ang should not have confessed at that time.

However... what could he do when Li Ang was so badly beaten that he lost his mind? There was nothing that could be done about it.

Adele retrieved Leon's cane, but the sample he had been wearing around his waist was missing, presumably lost in the fierce battle. This was a real shame, as Leon had been quite interested in the Witch King's power... and now he had lost his only chance.

Well, let's just let things take their course...

As he pondered, Li Ang felt drowsy again, and it seemed that fresh blood was seeping from the gauze wrapped around his waist.

The wound that the knight named Willard inflicted on Leon wasn't actually fatal, but what was fatal was that they had no suitable medical means in the wilderness.

The medicine they carried could only temporarily slow the worsening of the wound; wounds of this severity could only be treated with medical Originium Arts or surgery.

The problem is that, like Adele, Leon is very bad at healing Originium Arts. Adele studied for a long time but could only heal minor wounds like abrasions, and it had no effect on the wound that ran through her entire abdomen.

Li Ang simply couldn't understand how medical Originium Arts worked on the human body. It was completely different from other Originium Arts, and it was absurd that it could be classified as 'Originium Arts' in the same way. It was as if Originium Arts was a basket into which anything could be stuffed.

Moreover, they didn't have time to stop and look for a doctor.

Not long after they fled Brandenburg, the Tower indeed issued a wanted notice for them. However, the notice was rather strange. It offered a huge reward for information about their whereabouts, provided that they were not allowed to be harmed.

Fortunately, the portraits provided by the tower differed significantly from their actual appearances; otherwise, their situation would have been even more difficult.

Even so, there was still the possibility of being targeted by bounty hunters, so Li Ang and his group dared not stay in any black market for too long. After replenishing their supplies, they had to leave in a hurry, and there was no time to find a doctor in the black market for treatment.

During the long and bumpy journey, Li Ang also lacked the conditions to rest and recuperate. His wounds, which had just healed, reopened after being jolted open by the bumps. He was only able to hold on because of his physical strength. If it were someone else, they probably wouldn't have lasted more than two days before being laid to rest.

Even so, Li Ang was exhausted and nearly killed, with only 30-40% of his original fighting strength remaining. He wouldn't be able to perform fancy moves like parrying, deflecting, or using weapons to break through defenses for a while.

If it weren't for the devastating power of his Originium Arts at mid-range, and the fact that casting spells doesn't require particularly large movements, he probably wouldn't have been able to preserve even this much of his combat strength.

The wound kept tearing open and healing, at the cost of a lot of physical exertion. The work of driving was completely handed over to Adele. Every day, Li Ang would fall into a deep sleep to recover his strength, wake up to tease Adele and liven up the atmosphere, and then fall into a deep sleep again, and so on in an endless cycle.

Therefore, he had no idea where they had arrived at.

Entering Kazimierz... This is indeed good news. As long as he can find a place to rest and recuperate for a period of time, at most a week, Li Ang's body's self-healing ability will allow the wound to heal.

“Adele… I’m a little sleepy and need to rest for a while,” Leon said, yawning.

"Okay, rest assured."

Upon hearing Adele's reply, inside the swaying SUV, Li Ang drifted into a restless dream.

While asleep, the cells at the wound site divided at a rate hundreds of times faster than normal, accelerating the healing of the abdominal wound.

After an unknown amount of time, Li Ang felt someone nudge his shoulder.

Adele's voice whispered in his ear, "Leon, Leon! Wake up, I've found a place to rest."

Chapter Two: The Post Station

As Adele called out to him, Leon gradually awoke.

Four or five hours had passed since he fell asleep. According to Adele, they should have left the no-man's-land and officially entered the territory of Kazimierz.

The place Adele mentioned earlier, a place to rest, must be the inn in front of us.

This inn was built entirely of fragile wood and didn't look very sturdy. The dozen or so scattered houses nearby were similar. Most settlements in the wasteland without shifting land were like this, building houses with cheap materials, so they wouldn't feel bad even if they were destroyed by natural disasters.

Parked in front of the inn were many vehicles with completely different styles, including armored vehicles that looked very sturdy, classic cars from the 18th century, and even a few donkey carts... However, in this world, these creatures should be called pack animals.

This subtle sense of temporal and spatial disorientation could only be felt by Li Ang; the native inhabitants of Terra had long been accustomed to such scenes.

After straightening the hem of his clothes to cover the wound on his abdomen, Li Ang locked the car door and then pushed open the door of the inn with Adele.

The inn's hall fell silent as the wooden door creaked open. Everyone turned their attention to the two new guests, but they quickly looked away, as if nothing had happened, and resumed their loud conversations and laughter with their companions.

However... Li Ang sensed a fleeting malice from some of the people.

This is indeed a reality. A pale-faced, seemingly frail young man bringing a petite girl to a place like this, without any legal constraints, would certainly tempt many people to harbor evil intentions.

It seems their luck is a bit bad. Bounty hunters who are used to killing and arson won't let these two 'fat sheep' go. If things get even worse, slave traders might already be eyeing them.

This is the land of knights, Kazimir.

On a positive note, one might think of noble words like chivalry, but what is the reality? The knights of Kazimierz were, without a doubt, a noble class. Although their status had declined considerably due to the development of the times, they were still nobles.

The gardens of noblemen still need to be cleaned. The lingering effects of the slave trade still exist in Kazimierz, and even things like 'arenas' can appear in broad daylight, only with a nicer name.

It's now called 'Knights' Arena'.

The more Leon learned about Kazimierz, the more complicated his feelings became. This country... seemed even worse than Letania.

However, they are only here to find Professor Valcke's daughter; whether they want to stay in the country is another matter.

"Be careful, these people have ill intentions," Li Ang whispered in Adele's ear.

Adele nodded slightly.

If someone were to target them, they would likely make their move after they left the post station; they would not usually choose to do so in such a public area.

At this moment, a Kuranta who looked like a waiter came over and asked, "Guests, are you looking for a room or a meal?"

The main ethnic group in Kazimierz is the Kuranta. After entering Kazimierz, the number of Kuranta people encountered increased significantly. Right now, almost half of the people sitting in the hall are Kuranta.

"Check in, get a double room, and also prepare meals for two more people," Li Ang said, taking a small Originium Ingot out of his pocket and tossing it over. "This is the deposit. If it's not enough, just call me to make up the difference."

Li Ang could sense that when he heard him say he only wanted a double room, Adele instinctively reached out to poke his back, but after hesitating for a moment, she reluctantly withdrew her hand.

She had been traveling for quite some time and knew that living separately was not a good option at this time, especially since Li Ang was an injured person who needed someone to take care of him.

In the end, Adele convinced herself and didn't utter a word of rebuttal.

After receiving the Originium Ingot, the waiter confirmed that it was genuine and then said with a smile, "Okay, please have a seat in the lobby for a moment. Your meal and room key will be brought to you shortly."

At this time, the inn was crowded with people, and most of the tables were occupied by guests from all walks of life. The smell of cheap alcohol mixed with the smell of sweat created an indescribable odor.

Li Ang felt that for the sake of his nose, it was better not to squeeze with these people. If he couldn't find a good spot, he might as well stand in the lobby for a while and take the food back to his room to eat.

Li Ang scanned the inn's lobby with his senses and was surprised to find an empty table in a corner, with only three people sitting around it.

The first person Li Ang sensed was a Kuranta woman. She was wearing a very traditional knight's heavy armor, and anyone could recognize her at a glance. Her righteous and awe-inspiring aura almost overflowed from her. Such a person... shouldn't be a bad person, right?

When Li Ang sensed the two people beside her, his questions were answered.

Hmph, so the people sitting here are demons... two Sarkaz, no wonder the others don't want to get close to this spot.

The Sarkaz are infamous in this world, even more so than the terrorists of the previous world. They are heavily demonized by various rumors, but these rumors are all fabricated based on one fact: the Sarkaz are very strong. This race are natural warriors, and even women and children should not be underestimated.

Most people would rather not associate with demons unless absolutely necessary.

One Kuranta and two Sarkaz, both women... What a strange combination! I wonder how the three of them ended up together.

However, this was just right for Leon, as he was not affected by those rumors and did not harbor any prejudice against the Sarkaz.

Race cannot be used to judge a person's character; this has always been Li Ang's belief.

So Li Ang led Adele to the table and asked, "Ladies, would you mind if we sat here for a while?"

Upon hearing this, the Sarkaz woman, who was completely shrouded in a robe, looked up at the two of them, then nodded slightly and said.

"No problem, please have a seat."

Chapter Three: The Healer

Perhaps because of their good looks, the mysterious trio accepted them very easily.

After all, compared to the others in the hall, Li Ang and his group were completely different. On one side was a scruffy, muscular man with a stubble beard, wearing tattered leather armor, and on the other side were young men and women who, despite their travel-worn appearance, still exuded a gentle and refined air.

Humans are undeniably visual creatures, and most people would prefer to be closer to the latter.

"Thank you." Li Ang nodded politely, then said to Adele, "Please sit down, let's rest here for a while."

Adele glanced at Leon with some concern. She was more influenced by the rumors than Leon, so she was not so easily convinced by these Sarkaz.

However, seeing that Leon didn't seem worried at all, Adele gradually relaxed.

After the two were seated, the mysterious trio didn't pay much attention to the newly joined Leon and Adele. After glancing at them, they began to talk about their own affairs in hushed tones.

They seemed to be talking about an upcoming tournament in the Great Knight Territory, but Li Ang lost interest after listening for a few minutes.

However, from beginning to end, it was the Sarkaz woman who had answered Leon earlier who was talking to the Kuranta knight, while the other Sarkaz woman sat blankly to the side, seemingly lost in thought.

After glancing at them a few times, Li Ang stopped paying attention to the three people. Their interaction ended there, and they might never meet again after leaving the inn.

After turning around, Li Ang leaned close to Adele and quietly asked her about her next plans.

Professor Valcke's daughter was also an acquaintance of Adele's; they had grown up together. However, since her daughter got married and moved to Casimir, and Adele was busy with her doctoral studies, their contact gradually decreased.

This should be Adele's first visit in the past three years.

"hiss……"

Li Ang suddenly stopped moving, his brows furrowing.

Seeing this, Adele knew that Leon's wound had flared up again, so she hurriedly took out bandages and medicine from her pocket to help Leon stop the bleeding.

Li Ang stopped Adele, indicating that she didn't need to be so nervous; he had just accidentally aggravated his wound.