Whose world-class drama are they criticizing?

The withered body could no longer bind the knight's soul.

Kiri embraced him with open arms. His expression was hidden by the fire; he simply lowered his head slightly and continued walking forward.

But Kiri's soul was about to burn out, and his consciousness was about to dissipate.

but not now.

He continued walking forward.

The Straw Knights have a tradition that the living are responsible for burning the dead, remembering their names, and carrying on their will. Kiri is the last Straw Knight.

Kiri has only one thing to do.

Give the straw fire, give the withered leaves to burn.

Following in second place is Angni Blair.

Angni was also a member of the Straw Clan, Kiri's cousin, and the quartermaster of the Straw Knights. Whenever he went out to procure supplies, he would always bring Kiri various small toys from Luming City, but he was exceptionally strict with Kiri when it came to sword practice. Kiri still remembered one day when he made a mistake and was punished by him by running thirty laps.

Kiri embraced him and they continued walking.

More than physical pain, it's the weariness of the soul.

He was tired and wanted to sleep.

but not now.

"Baby, my baby."

"The night is deep, I wish you could fall asleep with the pillow of rice blossoms."

The days of yesteryear blew back to him like the wind. Every morning, Uncle Jack would cook oatmeal porridge, and occasionally a stew of potatoes and meat. Kirito loved the taste of that stew, but he hadn't had it for thirty years. After meals, he would either train at the castle or patrol the border, regularly checking the blockade of Strawtown. His brother taught him to ride a horse until dusk.

The rice was still bright yellow then, and he was exactly sixteen years old.

Now the rice is all withered and yellow, and he is forty-six years old.

Straw doesn't need a funeral; only its transformation into fire is worthy of its life.

Kiri continued walking, embracing one Straw Knight after another, until he reached the end of the town, where he was the only Straw Knight left.

"You will grow strong like wheat, while I grow old slowly."

"Burn me!"

Continuing onward, what comes into view is ruin and desolation, broken city walls and a small castle—it is a castle ruin.

Rice Flower City, or rather, withered and diseased city.

Looking at the abandoned castle before him, Kiri knew he had reached the end. This was the Blair family's ancestral home a hundred years ago, located at the deepest part of the town, the site of the outbreak of the Curse of the Withered, and the birthplace of the Princess of the Withered.

"We're about to fight the final boss."

"Whoever chickens out is a coward!"

The players were really enjoying themselves. This place was really getting exciting. Regardless of whether they could beat Daohua City at their current level, the atmosphere was already so intense that they just grabbed their weapons and got to work.

He bluntly stated that whoever backs down today is a coward.

"Mr. Kiri is truly a legend; he was almost in tears."

"Why would I avoid the ailing princess?"

“I said Ryan Lumin will definitely kill the Sickly Princess.”

Second hair.

Ryan was speechless.

Me, fight the Blighted Princess? Are you kidding me?

Players can respawn indefinitely, but he can't.

Moreover, this isn't something you can just fight whenever you want.

Thirty years ago, the Straw Knights fell at the gates of Rice Flower City, never even seeing the face of the withered princess.

What was it that killed them?

Ryan had a feeling that something was about to happen.

From the courtyard walls, from the city walls, from the gap between dusk and the white night, the shadows of decay surged out from all directions. The entire castle withered rapidly before Ryan's eyes. The monsters were entwined with centuries of decay, and countless limbs crawled on the walls like twisted centipedes. Their will and soul had long been annihilated, turning into the most loyal guards of the decay princess.

【The Aristocracy Affected by Disease】

[lv20]

Kiri knew the identities of those monsters.

The ancestor of the straw family, his ancestor.

A hundred years ago, the Blair family was the most illustrious family in the entire country.

But with the arrival of the Curse of the Withered, the entire Blair family was engulfed in the curse. All their bloodline descendants were instantly transformed into Withered monsters, their souls forever imprisoned in the castle, and they fell into the descent of Withered nobles.

Except for one branch family that wasn't in town—that was Kiri's great-grandfather's—all the Blairs were cursed.

This is the century-old curse of the straw family.

Kiri was preoccupied with his own thoughts; if Ryan hadn't stopped him, he probably would have become one of them too.

At that time, the golden bloodline of the Straw Family, which has been passed down for thousands of years, will be a withered and shameful ethnic group, forever despised and insulted.

Ryan observed Kiri's condition and he could vaguely see the latter's soul, which was frighteningly thin.

This is what is meant by the oil lamp running out of oil. Kiri's flame burned from Blight Village to Blight Town, but it could never reach the throne of the Blight Princess. This is the limit that mortals can struggle to reach.

Perhaps in the next second, Kiri's soul will be extinguished, leaving nothing behind.

Then the emerging diseased nobles will tear all the players apart.

Finally, he escaped in front of all the players, a plan that seemed flawless.

This is the best time to escape.

Ryan told himself this: He had missed so many times, he couldn't miss this one again. Let whoever wanted to fight the Blighted Princess go. What he should do now was run away!

Ryan was thinking about escaping, but his eyes were fixed on Kiri. You should stop now.

His soul and body were about to wither away, yet he stepped onto the first step of the castle.

All the lightless fell silent, and they too watched, watching the end of Kiri Blair.

Exhaustion overwhelmed Kiri like a flood, and she wanted to sleep forever.

but not now.

He said to himself in his heart, and stepped onto the second level.

The once raging fire is now reduced to a tiny wisp, flickering in the cold wind, as if it could be extinguished at any moment.

but not now.

He said to himself, and stepped onto the third level.

This blazing fire was the last trace Simon left on him, and also the initial flame that ignited Kiri Blair.

He did not want the flames to go out, so he repeatedly burned the ashes of the soul.

Inside the castle dwells the apostles, cursed for a hundred years, while Kiri is reduced to a mere ember. Nevertheless, he must continue forward, determined to end the century-long curse upon the Straw House.

He wanted to climb the steps, he wanted to enter the castle, he wanted to stand before the title of the withered princess, he wanted to defy the fate of decay, even if the struggles of mortals were meaningless.

Whether it was the Straw Family or the Straw Knights, everyone was dead except for Kiri Blair.

So, he was the last straw.

Dear ancestors, please bear witness—

As Kiri stepped onto the fourth step, the withered nobles became agitated. They let out twisted and blasphemous roars, dragging their withered plants as they swooped down from the city wall. Kiri then threw the ashes of his soul into the blazing fire!

Even if only a spark remains, he will burn that destiny!

But what killed Kiri first, rather than being burned to ashes, was a sword.

The curse pierced his flesh and also punctured the spores of his soul.

Kiri certainly recognized the sword; it was both strange and magnificent, named 'Straw,' a sacred sword passed down through the Straw family for over a thousand years.

And the current owner of this sword... Kiri looked up and saw the boy with silver eyes.

"Kiri Blair."

The boy said, "Leave a little ashes for your soul."

“I promised you that something would always remain after the straw is burned—I will not break my promise.”

All the players forgot to breathe, their pupils trembling, Ryan Lumin.

Before Kiri's soul was completely burned away, he stepped onto the steps, preemptively killing the former's body and piercing the curse on the latter's soul.

"Then--"

Ryan looked into Kiri's eyes and said, slowly and deliberately, "Kiss the tip of my sword."

Give me your fire.

Kiri suddenly realized that he, Kiri Blair, was not the only one who had coexisted with the curse of withering for thirty years and still survived in the world.

Straw sword!

Could it be for this very purpose that Ryan reforged the cursed straw sword? Just how far into the future has he foreseen?

Kiri didn't know the truth, but he knew what to do.

As dusk settles over the mountain graves, Kiri kneels on the ground, kissing the straw sword.

It resembled an ancient knightly ceremony.

I offer all my loyalty to my lord's sword.

The flame at the corner of his mouth, originating from Simon Blair's body and then passed to the flame of Kiri Brian's soul, eventually climbed onto Ryan's sword, and the withered plants on the straw sword began to burn.

The Blazing Fire cannot be contained by mortal objects; curses are the fuel for its fire. In an instant, the entire sword was covered in Blazing Fire!

The principle is similar to that of combustion.

The sword is the burning shell, and Ryan is the soul of the sword.

Ryan infused magic into the withered spores at the hilt of the sword. As soon as the spores absorbed the magic, the withered plants began to grow wildly. The more curses there were, the more fiercely the blazing fire burned. The straw sword, fused with the Azure Silver Forging Stone, could withstand the flames and curses.

Simon's flames, the flames of the Straw Knights, the flames of Blight Village and Blight Town, Kiri's flames, all for burning on the Straw Sword!

"The night is dark and devoid of light, withered trees and decaying stumps."

"This straw body of mine, I will ignite it."

“That line was pretty cool,” Ryan said to Kiri one last time. “After you die, you’ll be mine.”

“This nonsense…” Kiri muttered, “Let whoever wants it take it.”

He glanced at the straw sword one last time. Ah, the straw family's sword was still burning. He felt relieved and was finally swallowed up by endless exhaustion.

As the evening breeze blew, Kiri fell backward, his soul turning into ashes and light.

The ashes scattered outside the twilight, fell into the earth, and were buried in the soil.

That's all that's left of Kiri Bryan.

Ryan drew his straw sword, turned to look at the Plague Apostles surging from the city wall. Once he reached the steps of Plague City, escape was no longer an option. Kiri was an idiot, and Ryan Lumin was also out of his mind.

The plan failed.

Despite planning to escape, they ended up at the enemy's spring entrance.

Since that's the case, let it keep burning.

Burn this castle, along with its withered fate, to ashes.

The blazing flames only illuminated the boy's pale silver eyes!

【Straw Sword——】

"The blazing fire burns eternally"

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