Whose world-class drama are they criticizing?

"A child's smile."

Chapter 67 The Most Vicious Curse

[October 11, Simon Blair's book]

Reinforcements haven't arrived, but I know Kiri will.

I pierced the throats of the parched villagers with a straw sword, then set it ablaze. Their flesh and blood fell onto the sword, forming fine roots, just like my own body.

While I can still write, I want to write everything down.

Ryan continued scrolling down.

...

[October 12, Simon Blair's book]

Reinforcements haven't arrived, and we don't have enough food. I need food to replenish my strength.

I crushed the marching biscuits into a soup, and the child ate it. I picked up the withered wheat bread again, swallowed it, and the curse took root in my lungs. Spores sprouted.

I hummed a lullaby to my child, and he fell asleep peacefully.

My waking hours are dwindling, so I continue fighting.

...

[October 11, Simon Blair's book]

I am a cowardly and selfish person; I lack the courage to live.

Even if it meant breaking my vow and spending the rest of my life tormented by illness, I didn't have the courage to live an ugly life for my family and responsibilities, so I chose the easier path.

I'm so grateful that Kiri survived.

I sang a lullaby.

...

[10 month 10 day]

I am sometimes lucid, sometimes confused.

The straw won't wither; before it withers, we'll burn it. While I'm still lucid, I should set myself ablaze so I can die easily and enjoy peace.

But I can't die now; reinforcements haven't arrived yet.

But I can't die now.

I also want to sing for the children.

Ryan continued flipping through the entries. The next two entries were filled with incomprehensible characters, and the dates and locations were all mixed up. The third entry, perhaps a last gasp before death, was clearer. According to Ryan's calculations, it should have been October 17th.

[October 8th, Simon (crossed out)]

I can't remember my name... I can only look through my old journal entries.

Why am I here?

It's alright, I remember I need to kill the enemy.

[Do you still remember to sing?]

...

[10 month 8 day]

Distorted characters.

I don't understand.

[10 month 7 day]

The monsters are back!

I stood guard outside the house with my sword, and they, also with swords and wearing armor, slaughtered many villagers, their momentum overwhelming.

I can't let them in... I can't let them in... I remember I had to kill the enemy... but why... why... why is the leader of the monsters looking at me, and shedding tears?

【why? 】

I can't remember anything, but I sang a song for it.

I speak with my sword.

...

[10 month 5 day]

This is the last paragraph of the log, consisting of only one short sentence:

The Straw Knight Never Withers

.....

“The Straw Knight will never wither…” Ryan repeated the last paragraph of the log.

"This is the oath taken by the Straw Knights."

“The whole oath is like this,” Kiri said: “In the dark of night, amidst withered trees and rotten stumps, this straw body, I ignite it—the Straw Knight will never wither.”

This copywriting is good; it's quite a riddle.

Ryan nodded; that's the kind of riddle he wanted.

"That line is pretty cool," he said. "You'll be mine after you die."

They just stole it.

“Whoever wants this nonsense can have it.” Kiri’s gaze remained fixed on the cabin, on Simon Blair, who was shrouded in the curse of withering disease.

Simon cradled the withered infant, surrounded by the sounds of flesh-and-blood battles and distant screams. Like Lu Bu riding Red Hare, his mop soaked with his answer, or Miken riding Ratahn, not a single player dared approach.

They didn't enter the hut's area, so the Sick Knight didn't attack; they just stood there facing each other from a distance.

Ryan was annoyed that they had missed the best opportunity to escape, and the withered knight was not attacking them.

What's the point of running away if players aren't facing a life-or-death crisis?

This is where things get awkward.

Ryan thought, since there is no crisis, then create one.

"Aren't we ridiculous?"

After a brief silence, Kiri suddenly burst out laughing:

"Thirty years ago, I returned here with mercenaries from the Twilight Mountains. The baby might have been saved, but my idiot brother stopped him outside."

This joke is truly hellish.

Ryan fell silent; he easily regained his composure.

“I wanted to free him, but I couldn’t beat him. I’ve never beaten him since I was a child… The straw sword cut my face, and that’s how this scar was left.”

Kiri pointed to the corner of his mouth, where tiny, blood-red spores were wriggling.

This is the culprit behind Kiri Blair's thirty-year curse of the withering disease.

—That's why he deeply hated Simon Blair.

"I ran away again, leaving that idiot behind."

Kiri laughed and said, "From that moment on, I abandoned my oath and became a Forsaken Paladin."

"That baby starved to death. That's how it ended thirty years ago. It's hilarious." He laughed until he could hardly breathe. "I hate him, and he must hate me too."

"It's ridiculous and funny, isn't it? It's all for nothing, it's all a joke."

His lips itched from the cracks, and Kiri scratched them hard, blood dripping down the scratches: "The farmer toiled until his death to feed his wife and daughters, but the grain he delivered was poisonous rottenness."

"The knight fought to the death to uphold his oath, but the enemy he harmed was his own brother."

"How ridiculous."

"Fuck you."

"Farmer or knight!"

“We all had hope, we all had passion, we all struggled! But Ryan Lumin, Lord Ryan of the Duke's family, tell me, how could the ending of the story be so ridiculous?”

Ryan couldn't answer.

All blessings will be distorted, all prosperity will be corrupted, and all goodness will wither.

This is the curse of withering and disease, its true power being that withering is the destiny of all living beings since their birth.

All living beings that attempt to resist their fate of withering will meet the most tragic end.

"In the Land of No Light, in the Town of Sickness, in this fucking rotten world, all struggles are meaningless."

Kiri raised his head, his face covered in blood.

“If a fire burns it all down, nothing will be left of the straw. It’s better to let it wither and die, at least something will be left behind.”

Kiri looked at Lane: "So I dare not die, but I am also unwilling to live easily. I can only slowly rot, living in fear like a walking corpse. This is my story of the past thirty years."

So this is the reason for Kiri's fall from grace, which wasn't mentioned in the original setting.

Having coexisted with the curse of decay for thirty years, its soul and body completely withered, ultimately giving birth to a blasphemous creature.

Kiri Blair, the apostle of the withering disease, "the resurrection of the withering disease".

Even the fiercest fire could hardly kill it.

Ryan stared at Kiri, whose wounds had reopened all over his body, and withered plants were growing wildly, their roots completely replacing his blood vessels.

He knew then that Kiri had completely succumbed to the curse, a destiny that no one could stop.

Kiri also tried to resist.

As a result, the time it took to wither in the original timeline was brought forward by a full month.

Ryan's expression wasn't good; at his current level, it would be difficult for him to defeat Viscount "Resurrected from the Dead".

Faced with such a formidable enemy, Ryan's attitude was naturally...joy.

The golden opportunity to desert has arrived.

“I hate him, and he must hate me too, hate me for being late and hate me for running away.”

Kiri kept staring at the hut and the withered knight, and said in a hoarse voice, "Even if my fate is sealed, I will kill him, or let him kill me."

“That battle thirty years ago deserves a conclusion,” Kiri said to Ryan. “My lord, please give me that opportunity.”

?

Ryan was starting to lose his composure; the way he said it made it sound like I really wanted to fight this bastard.

Whoever falls in love can have sex with her.

Ryan instantly came up with a new plan: no matter who won in the end, he would run away in front of the players.

I'll escape home and grind for a month before coming back to mess with you two, you Haier brothers.

The more Ryan thought about it, the more reliable it seemed. Compared to the supporting character Kiri, his protagonist's escape made the whole thing seem even more absurd, completely ruining Eden's reputation.

Kiri on the front lines only needs to fight bravely, while Ryan has many more things to consider.

He nodded, and Kiri said thank you before slowly walking towards the cabin.

As day fades into the night and dusk descends, the clouds are folded by the wind, creating golden waves of wheat.

Looking at Viscount Kiri's back, Ryan felt that the man's figure had shrunk, and he looked more like a tired old man, dragging his body toward the grave at dusk.

But why... why... why is the leader of the monsters looking at me, and shedding tears?

I can't remember anything, but I sang a song for it.

I speak with my sword.

Patients with quivering disease are all mentally ill, and we must use the thinking of a mentally ill person.

Ryan recalled that journal entry and felt he should say something, at least to say goodbye.

Since the players are present, let's continue with the riddle-like text.