Whose world-class drama are they criticizing?

Is this a tradition in the Westerlands?

Kirito is definitely not as handsome as Simon.

However, Ryan could not see what Kiri looked like before he fell ill. All nine portions of Azure Silver Ash were exhausted, and all nine Straw Knights answered the call, but one person was missing: Kiri Blair.

The remaining portion of Azure Silver Spirit Ash was still clutched in Ryan's hand.

He tried to use it to summon, but there was no response.

Ryan confirmed this fact once again: Kiri Brian had nothing left; his soul had burned away completely, leaving no room for redemption.

Simon then understood.

His brother has vanished forever, becoming pure 'nothingness,' and the Straw Knights will forever be missing a member.

This is the price of defying the fate of withering away; in the end, one dies in the most tragic manner, leaving nothing behind.

They can hardly be considered survivors; their bodies were burned away long ago, and their spirit ashes only appeared briefly in the world.

The Straw Knights have died out; they will leave nothing behind.

Nothing will be left behind?

“Leave Kiri’s seat to me.”

"Why not take advantage of a free government job?"

Ryan gazed at the withered knights guarding the gate, or rather, the original Straw Knights. The order's seats had always been ten, unchanged for a century, but now there were only nine Straw Knights.

"Nine against ten is not fair."

Ryan poured half of his magic into the Straw Sword, and the blazing fire rose up like a dragon, bursting forth with dazzling light around him, making the already magnificent scene even more brilliant. This was no longer a blues moment; this was the moment for the Straw Sword.

The young man with the pale silver eyes calmly stated a fact: "Ryan Lumin is the tenth seat."

He also passed the civil service exam with great success.

Simon stared intently at Ryan. He knew Ryan's identity, of course. His silver eyes and golden hair were the most legitimate bloodline of the Lu Ming family, the bloodline to which all Western families were to pledge allegiance. He knew what that meant.

Simon's lips moved, and his shoulders trembled, but he ultimately said nothing; words were no longer needed.

How old is Ryan? Fifteen or sixteen?

He is the same age as his younger brother.

Simon turned to look at the silent knights behind him. They stood silently, waiting for their commander's command. Each of them had a gleam in their eyes, resolute and sincere, just as they had been thirty years ago, resolute and sincere in following him into the deadly abyss.

No further words are needed.

The blazing firelight illuminated Simon's face as he and Ryan walked forward, their pace quickening. Behind them, swords were drawn one after another, their sharp flashes creating a cacophony of clanging sounds.

But this could not drown out Simon's voice. With his body and soul, he shouted the vow that had been repeated hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of times, echoing across the barren land for thirty years:

"The straw knight never withers."

"The Knights—"

"charge!!"

The Straw Knights responded to Simon's shout. They drew their swords, the holy swords gleaming in the night sky. They grew faster and faster, and they began to charge, towards the withered knights of a hundred years ago, towards their ancestors, towards all the withering and decay that stood in their way, launching a charge of straw!

The withered knights also roared.

Even after a hundred years, the same oath still binds their souls.

Honor and oaths are the most vicious curse of a knight.

They must defend Daohua City.

They had to protect the straw family, they had to cover the evacuation of the women and children from the castle, and their families were inside as well.

They cannot allow the scavenging monsters to set foot in the castle again.

Absolutely not.

The leader, the sickly knight commander, was also the head of the Blair family a hundred years ago.

He drew his rotten sword, and with his decaying body, he shouted the same oath from his withered throat!

"The Straw Knight... Never Withers".

"Knights... Order—" he roared madly, his voice seeming to tear souls to shreds: "Charge!!"

The withered knights drew their swords, the decaying blades reflecting a blasphemous light. They began to charge, faster and faster, until they finally collided with the straw knights. Past and present, withering and new life, clashed and fought at this moment!

The first Straw Knight, the last Straw Knight.

The withered straw knight, the newly born straw knight.

They are on completely opposite paths, yet they shout the same vow—

This is the end of a century-long destiny!

Chapter 76 Your Daddy's Here Again (Five Updates, Please Subscribe!)

"Brothers, follow me and charge forward with passion!"

The old man got fired up too, shouting to the players behind him, raising his iron bar and ready to charge forward with fervor.

Yuzu, who was standing nearby, quickly stopped her uncle, "Are you stupid? We are summoners. If we die, won't the summoner's big brother go back?"

"Oh, oh." The old man rarely listened to advice and readily agreed, so he quickly shouted to the players behind him, "Brothers, follow me and run away with our lives on the line!"

The Phantom Snail should have the self-awareness of a Phantom Snail.

The players hurriedly scrambled to their feet, fleeing in a frenzy, hiding behind the battlements and crouching in the shadows, fearing that the aftershocks of the battle would sweep them away and take their lives.

Ryan, who was in front, only needed to focus on fighting bravely, while the other players had much more to consider.

Hehe, we must survive!

Yuzu also hid in the corner, watching her beloved Laibao fight in front of her. She felt like a cowardly husband, an insecure child, and a timid younger brother, unable to do anything.

Even the most thick-skinned uncle couldn't help but feel ashamed at this moment.

"Sigh, I've gone too far this time. I feel really bad for Brother Lai. Sigh, I'll have to blow up his blacksmith shop when I get back."

Even the purest black Leyborg was now convinced of their defeat.

"Lao Lai, don't blame us for being despicable."

Ryan glanced at the fleeing players, and he wanted to breathe on them again. You all used my tricks!

But he no longer had any breathing space left.

The first generation of the Sick Knights far surpassed Ryan in rank and even exceeded the Straw Knights, in addition to their ability to regenerate infinitely.

Although the chances are slim, it's not entirely hopeless.

The Blight Knights possess high stats and high regeneration, but the Blight Curse has corrupted their will, leaving them to fight only by instinct and unable to use any magic; while the Straw Knights are at their peak, capable of using blazing fire magic.

Moreover, Ryan also has the Straw Sword.

The sword burned even brighter.

The blazing fire is forging it; this flame, which consumes Kiri's soul, is even more swift than ordinary blazing fire.

The straw sword is a very special case, and it is probably impossible to replicate it.

Originally a sacred sword passed down through the Straw family, it coexisted with the Curse of Withering for thirty years, was reforged with Azure Silver Forging Stone, and is now being tempered a third time by the Curse of Withering and the Blazing Fire.

If Lion makes a mistake and gets hit by a Blighted Knight, he'll be instantly killed. Conversely, if Lion gets hit by a Blighted Knight's Cursed Spores, he'll also be instantly killed. Both sides are glass cannons, so it's all about micro-management.

The battle with the Sick Knight deepened Ryan's understanding of Lu Ming's swordsmanship.

Ryan was gradually able to see the soul again, the soul of the knight who had been imprisoned by the withered body for a hundred years... becoming increasingly clear in Ryan's pale silver eyes.

I set fire to the straw.

The straw knight and the withered knight collided again, scattering dry branches and sparks.

The holy sword clashed with the withered sword, and the monster's withered branches and leaves flew into the air, as did the warrior's severed limbs. The withered branches and leaves of the withered knight would revive, but the warrior's severed limbs would never return.

Even more seriously, the accumulated value of [Dryness] is soaring with each round of impact.

The straw knights' bodies are destroyed; they are reborn in the world as souls.

Therefore, this time, the withering disease directly infected the knights' souls.

Despite knowing this fact beforehand, Straw Knight still responded to the players' respect without hesitation and rushed to this battlefield where the odds of victory were slim.

"We're doomed, the situation is very bad..."

The players watching from afar all frowned deeply; the situation was more than just bad, it was completely one-sided.

The first generation of Straw Knights represented the golden age of the Straw family; each of them was a legendary swordsman worthy of being displayed on the wall. However, by Simon's generation, the Straw Knights had long since declined.

Even with their will extinguished, the ancestors, relying solely on the instincts remaining in their bodies, were able to fight Simon to a stalemate.

For the Straw Rider, being stuck in a stalemate is a defeat.

Ryan's magic was gradually running out, and the straw sword was about to go out.

The Knights' apostles used blazing fire magic to burn the spores of the withered knight, but the effect was poor. Blazing fire can only be contained by curses; only the straw sword can truly cause damage.

As the situation remained deadlocked, the straw riders accumulated more and more blight.

That once noble soul is now withering away again.

They looked more and more like the Sick Knight.

Their skin gradually rotted, their flesh withered, their joints became entangled with dead branches and leaves, and even their pupils were clouded with gloom... Those once-brilliant knights were heading towards their fate of decay once more, and this time, it was their souls that withered.

This is the price mortals pay for defying their withering fate; they will meet their end in an even more tragic way.

But Simon smiled with relief.

This withering away—that was the very purpose of the Knights.

Unspoken understanding, yet unwavering commitment.

The failure thirty years ago, and Kiri's death, made them realize that for ordinary mortals to kill the curse, they must first become the curse themselves. The blazing fire cannot be borne by mortals; the only fuel that can bear the sacred flame is the curse.

This is the only way for mortals to fight against this withered world.

"Ryan Lumin".

The Knight Grisha was covered in a curse, with withered vines entwining his tall body. He was about to lose his will and become a monster of withering disease, but his golden eyes, though stained with darkness, were no longer the golden color of rice flowers, but the color of straw.

"Ignite my soul."

Ryan did not hesitate; hesitation would be an insult to the brave. He plunged his sword into Grisha's chest, and the blazing fire spread outwards, igniting the withered plants on his body.

The knights had no straw swords, so they could only use their souls as the vessel for the Blazing Flame; this was the only way they could win.

If one is merely killed, the soul can still return. But if one is burned to ashes, then there will be no trace of one.

The blazing fire spread from the Straw Knights, and more and more knights, afflicted by the withering curse, threw themselves into the raging flames. Ryan pierced through one Straw Knight after another, watching their eyes as they were consumed by the blazing fire.

The last one to be pierced was Simon Blair.

"Ryan Lumin".

Simon concluded by saying to Ryan, gazing at the door at the end of the line, the place of the withering disease, “But the Straw Knights have a tradition that the living must burn the bodies of the dead and continue on their way.”

"Tread over our ashes and hurry toward spring."

The Straw Knights were all ignited by the blazing fire. They were all burning straws, ready to spread like wildfire with the spring breeze. The straws launched a final charge against the withered knights, as if spring had plunged headlong into the withered late autumn!

Every collision between the blight and the straw results in a grand fire.

Once, twice, three times...

As Ryan stood amidst the blazing flames, his eyes had never been so clear. Beyond the flatlands lay spring mountains. For the first time, he was so close to that realm. He saw the last withered knight, and he also saw the soul imprisoned within that withered body.

Ryan thrust his sword forward, finally reaching the throne of the withered one.

You filthy bitch.

The boy kicked the door open.

"Your dad's here!"

and many more....

Ryan silently closed the door behind him.