Asura in Arknights

Li Ang could feel many curious gazes falling on him, but out of politeness, none of them took the initiative to ask Renn about him.

Leading Li Ang through several corridors, Renn stopped in front of a door and knocked.

"Please come in."

The person in the room looked up at the newcomer. "Oh, it's Renn. What brings you here? Weren't there any matches scheduled for you recently?"

“Boss, I have something I want to discuss with you,” Renn said. “My… relative wants to participate in the Knights’ Tournament, so I’ve come to ask if it’s possible to sign a temporary contract with him first.”

"Knight's Arena? This kid... can he handle it?" The boss raised an eyebrow, looking at Li Ang with some skepticism.

Seeing the boss's reaction, Ryan knew that he had also been fooled by Li Ang's appearance. After all, judging from his appearance alone, Li Ang did not look like someone who could fight. If you didn't experience it for yourself, who would have thought that a body with no visible muscles could unleash such power?

“Don’t be fooled by his appearance, boss,” Renn said with a wry smile. “This kid is very powerful. I’m no match for him at all. He’s at least a high-ranking knight.”

"Oh? Is that so?" Hearing what Ryan said, the boss became quite interested and looked at Li Ang with some surprise.

“Besides that, there’s one more thing I need to say,” Ryan said in a deep voice, “I’m ready to compete in the next level of competition?”

"...Are you serious? Why have you suddenly changed your mind?"

"If it's for this kid's sake, then forget it. I don't need to blackmail you with this kind of thing. You're one of the company's veterans, so we should give you this much face."

“This has nothing to do with him; it’s my own idea.” Ryan shook his head. “Actually, Sarah is pregnant, and I want to save more money before the baby is born. After thinking about it, this is the only way.”

"I see... Well then, I can only congratulate you." The boss thought for a moment, then asked, "By the way, does your wife know about this?"

Upon hearing this, Ryan scratched the back of his head and forced a somewhat awkward smile.

"...Fine, I'll just give you two more months' bonus this year." The boss sighed and said helplessly, "Also, if you're not planning to die on the field, don't rush to participate in the promotion competition. I'll figure out how to replace your outdated armor first. I think you should know the equipment gap between a level four knight and a level five knight."

"Thank you, boss. I understand."

Raine is currently only participating in some lower-level competitions or simple exhibition matches. His current armor is still somewhat useful in these competitions, but if he were to participate in higher-level competitions, that armor would be no different from paper.

After settling things off with Rennes, the matter with Li Ang became much easier to resolve. In fact, the boss didn't even need to consider this; he could have just signed him without hesitation.

It's the Cavaliers Tournament season now. If he can win a few games by luck, the traffic alone will be enough to recoup his investment. Even if he loses, he won't lose much, not to mention he has Ryan's guarantee.

"Then it's settled."

"And about this kid, take him to the Knights Association to go through the formalities first, and I'll have someone come with him to sign a short-term contract later."

"Okay, then I won't bother you any longer, boss."

Just as Ryan was about to leave with Li Ang, the boss suddenly called out to them, "By the way, if this kid is going to participate in this tournament qualifiers, I have to remind you of something."

“Recently… I’ve heard some rumors that the National Assembly, the Knights Association, and the Commercial Union have reached an agreement to allow infected individuals to participate in this year’s tournament. If that’s true, you should be careful.”

"What? They actually allowed infected people to participate in the competition?" Renn's mouth dropped open.

Although he was one of the very few non-infected members of the Sarkaz race, he knew what changes would occur after contracting Oripathy. Those qualified to participate in the Knights Tournament were definitely the strongest among the infected.

The fact that Originium Arts can be cast without a staff is troublesome enough, which means that unless you kill the opponent, you can't deprive them of their spellcasting ability, not to mention having to deal with the bizarre awakened spells of the Infected.

The fact that infected individuals can obtain official knighthood status will definitely bring unimaginable changes to the knightly arena... Renn's intuition told him that something was amiss, but he couldn't quite put his finger on why.

"What wouldn't those people do for money?" the boss sneered. "Kazimir will be utterly disgraced by those businessmen sooner or later. They can even come up with a way to make money by allowing infected people to participate in competitions. What else wouldn't they do?"

"Wouldn't this drag us into this?" Ryan and Leon thought at the same time, and they pretended not to have heard their boss's words.

After Ryan left with Li Ang, the boss picked up the phone on his desk and assigned the task of signing the contract with Li Ang to his subordinates.

As for who actually performs this task... what does it matter to him? As long as the task is completed, that's enough.

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

After warning the rebellious Maria and wishing Sarah and Adele not to talk about it, Marna concealed her whereabouts and hurriedly ran out of the Nearl family manor.

The surname Lin Guang is now just a burden to him, so none of his colleagues know his true identity when he is at work.

Marner rushed to the company as fast as he could and found his detestable boss, whom he had wanted to get rid of more than once.

"Minister, I've arrived."

The fat, big-eared minister glared at Marner with displeasure. "You've come just in time. I thought our department would be short one person again today."

"I'm sorry, Minister, there was an emergency at home, but I rushed back as quickly as possible." Marna bowed and nodded repeatedly, a stark contrast to her demeanor at the Lin Guang Mansion. "What specific work do you need me to do?"

Without even glancing at it, the minister slammed a stack of documents in Marner's face. "The boss's order is for our company to sign a new knight. Go and prepare the contract."

I have a fever again, and the culprit is...

It's a damn water purifier!! Can you believe it!

In short, my mom bought a water purifier of unknown brand, and the water tank was contaminated with bacteria. I put the water from it into a humidifier, and as a result, every time I turned on the humidifier, I got a respiratory infection and pneumonia.

I was wondering when my body became so weak. Even if it's a change of seasons, it shouldn't be like this... I used to rarely catch a cold even once a year, but in just one month, I've had pneumonia four times.

Thinking about it carefully, every case of pneumonia has one thing in common—the weather is too dry, so I turned on the humidifier.

I only found out after searching on Baidu that there is such a thing as "humidifier pneumonia." As for why it's said to be a problem with the water purifier instead of the humidifier... I just replaced my humidifier the day before yesterday and disinfected it with alcohol when I got back.

Speechless...

In short, I need to take a day off today. I'm in pain all over and can't breathe properly, so I need to rest for a day.

So be it.

But most water purifiers should have a sterilization function, right? What a piece of junk my water purifier is! I just changed the filter in July...

Chapter Twenty: Old Acquaintances

Perhaps because so many foreigners came to participate, the registration process of the Knights Association was surprisingly simple. After a 'simple' confirmation that Li Ang was not infected, the staff of the Knights Association gave him a form. After filling in all the information on the form, the registration was completed.

No one verifies the authenticity of the information; aside from the gender field, anyone can fill in whatever they want. Of course, there's also the possibility that some people with unusual features might not write a single truthful word on the registration form.

By the time Li Ang had completed all the formalities and received the participation certificate issued by the association, it was already close to afternoon.

Although the process was short, there were so many people coming to register for the Knights Association that almost every race of Terra could be found in the hall. There were people who had traveled from the other side of the world to participate, and even a Sarkaz person, who was rarely seen, was encountered by Leon in the hall.

The halo and wings on that Sarkaz were very unusual. In Li Ang's perception, they didn't seem like organs that a normal human could have. Instead, they seemed to be some kind of Originium Arts solidified on their bodies, which made people marvel.

These people came to Kazimierz for various reasons. Some wanted to become famous, some wanted to see strong people from other countries, and some, like Li Ang, were simply after the prize money from the Knights Tournament. However, this was a good thing for Li Ang.

The more participants and the more chaotic the situation, the less likely he is to attract attention.

Just as Li Ang and Renn were about to leave to return to Renn's company to continue handling the remaining contracts, the atmosphere inside the Knights Association suddenly became somewhat tense.

Just as the noisy classroom suddenly fell silent, the once bustling association became so quiet you could hear a pin drop. An unusual emotion permeated the crowd, and Li Ang couldn't help but shudder at the feeling.

This feeling was all too familiar to him—

That was murderous intent.

Previously, when confronting the Tower Knight, Li Ang was once suppressed by the opponent's aura, and he still vividly remembered the killing intent on the opponent's body. That's why he was able to recognize the true identity of this aura at a glance.

Although the murderous aura of the person in front of him was not as strong as that of the Tower Knight, it was still far beyond what an ordinary person could withstand. If an ordinary person were to face such an aura, they probably wouldn't even be able to lift their weapon.

"Boom-"

Metal combat boots slammed heavily onto the floor, and amidst the clanging sound of armor scraping against each other, a figure exuding a bloody aura crossed the threshold of the Knights' Guild.

"Get out of the way," the man said.

Those foreign warriors who had just been boasting about how powerful they were dared not meet his gaze under the oppressive killing intent. Some of them couldn't even lift their heads. The crowded people in the hall retreated to both sides at this moment, making way for him.

The man walked to the counter and slammed a stack of documents in front of the clerk.

"Register me."

The clerk took the document in her hand, glanced at it, and said somewhat shakily, "Sir... according to our regulations... you... need to have your physical condition checked before you can register..."

"No need, this is a certificate issued by the National Assembly."

As he said this, the man took out another document with an official seal.

A junior teller couldn't possibly verify the authenticity of such a matter until the Knights Association's management arrived and confirmed the document's authenticity, thus helping the person complete the registration.

This process was clearly not in accordance with the usual rules of the Knights Association, but the crowd around who witnessed this scene did not understand the hidden meaning behind this back door behavior.

Only Raine, standing to the side, whispered, "...It's him!?"

Although Ryan's mutterings were very soft, they still reached Li Ang's ears.

At this moment, the person shrouded in murderous intent had completed the registration procedures and was about to leave the crowded hall. His gaze slowly swept over the surrounding crowd, and when it passed in the direction of Li Ang, his gaze suddenly paused for a moment.

He then withdrew his gaze and left the Knights Association as if nothing had happened, under the watchful eyes of everyone.

Once the noise in the hall returned, Li Ang lowered his voice and asked, "Brother Ren, do you know that person from earlier?"

“…Hmm.” Raine nodded slightly.

"This isn't the place to talk. Come with me first." Then, Ryan pressed on Li Ang's shoulder and forced his way out amidst the shouts and curses of the others.

Raine didn't stop, but quickly led Li Ang to a secluded alley nearby.

As soon as he stopped, he said to Li Ang with a very serious expression, "Li Ang, listen to me, even if it's after the tournament, you should give up on the knight competition during this period."

"Why?" Li Ang asked, somewhat puzzled.

"Because... the boss's information is correct, there's a problem with this year's Knights Tournament, they really did allow infected people to participate."

Taking a deep breath, Ryan began to recount everything he knew.

“That person just now… I do know him, but we haven’t seen each other for seven or eight years.”

"His name is Byron. He's an old acquaintance of mine. After we came to Kazimierz together, Byron suddenly disappeared. There was no news of him for several years. I even thought he was dead."

"I never expected him to appear in a place like this..."

Shaking his head to clear his mind of his unease, Ryan continued, "Most importantly, Byron is an infected person... Did you hear that? He actually said he has a certificate issued by the National Assembly? How could the National Assembly agree to such an absurd thing?"

It's very simple, because the National Assembly has been sidelined.

Li Ang thought to himself silently.

Among the four major forces that jointly govern Kazimierz, the Supervisory Council is backed by a knightly family that has been passed down for thousands of years; the Commercial Alliance is backed by capitalists who control the economic lifeline of Kazimierz; and even the relatively weaker Knights' Association represents the interests of countless competitive knights.

What does the National Assembly have? It's the easiest target, and this institution is the first to be sidelined.

The pie is only so big; if there's one less person to divide it, then naturally, one can gain a larger share of the profits.

“Brother Ren, I think you’re overthinking it.” Li Ang shook his head and said, “Even if the infected can participate openly, it won’t have much of an impact on me.”

"I just want to make some money. I don't intend to win the championship. My skills are enough to deal with the infected people I encounter."

Ryan thought about it and felt that what Leon said made some sense, so he reluctantly nodded, "I hope so... Sigh, if Sarah finds out about this, I don't know what she'll say about me..."

Unfortunately, in that situation, there was no way to strike up a conversation with Byron, otherwise we could have gotten some inside information out of him.

With a heavy sigh, Ryan said, "Let's go, the boss should be all ready."

Chapter Twenty-One Temporary Agent

As soon as Li Ang and Renn returned, a fat guy rolled out of the company, followed by a tall Kuranta man.

"Lord Renn, you're finally back. Everything is ready here."

"There were too many people at the Knights' Guild, so it took a little while to get in line," Renn explained casually.

"It's alright, it's alright, it's all I should do," the fat man said, wiping the sweat from his brow. "Marna!"

“…I understand, Minister.” Marna stepped out from behind the minister.

Renn glanced at them, but didn't notice anything amiss.

Normally, Marner hides his identity within the company, and even his family doesn't know exactly where he works. However, although Ryan doesn't know Marner, Marner is quite familiar with him.

Sarah often talked about her husband while at work, and Marna overheard these conversations.

"Gentlemen, I am Marner. I will be in charge of the following contracts and matters."

“…Um, Mr. Marner, I am Li Ang. Please take care of me.” Although Li Ang said this, he did not dare to underestimate the person in front of him.

As soon as this person entered his perception range, Li Ang immediately realized his extraordinary nature.

Good heavens... Kazimierz truly lives up to its reputation as the land of knights; even a small company has such a formidable figure hidden among its employees.

The way ordinary people and trained soldiers act is quite different. Although this person was well concealed, the arm armor under his suit and the thin sword he carried close to his body completely gave away his identity.

What ordinary person would bring something like that to work?

Noticing this suspicious detail, Li Ang investigated further and discovered that this Kuranta person was hiding more than just that.

While the Kuranta race generally has good stamina, they are not a race known for their physical prowess. Rein is not considered weak among the Sarkaz, and if he were placed in their ranks, he would definitely become a centurion.

In terms of physical attributes alone, this guy named Manna is even stronger than Renn, and he also possesses the stamina and explosive power of the Kuranta race. If they were to fight, he could probably crush Renn with one hand.