Chapter 628
Chapter 628 - 608: First Meeting
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"Is this our first meeting? Or have we met many times before?"
At the bar, the ground was littered with burly men in various states of chaos - some were drunk, others knocked out.
The one responsible for this scene was the person drinking heavily before Lu Ping’an’s eyes.
"Let’s just call it our first meeting then. I’m Hannah Berkshire, and as you can see, I’m a warrior who’s lost everything, wandering around like a lost soul."
Light golden armor covered her right side and her right hand, while the inside was lined with black, tight-fitting knight attire. Coupled with her tall and athletic build, the female knight stood over two meters tall, drawing attention – especially with a head that resembled a shark!
Her head looked like a silver orca, or a shark from the movie, but the faint flames burning in her silver pupils felt strangely familiar to Lu Ping’an.
"...Perhaps, it’s not just the eyes that are familiar."
Facing this friendly inviter, Lu Ping’an could only nod stiffly.
His guess was completely wrong.
Originally, in his impression, this inheritor knight from the same school should have been a formidable middle-aged man to match the axe and shield style and tall stature.
But he didn’t expect that he not only got the gender wrong, but also the species of his counterpart...
"...I feel like I’ve seen you before."
"Ha, hitting on a dead spirit? If my aesthetics weren’t different from yours, I personally wouldn’t mind, human kid." Hannah was quite cheerful.
"No... the Shark Fishman, I’ve encountered them in a Historical Secret Realm before. That’s what gave me this feeling."
"You’re quite perceptive. They were our mortal enemies... or rather, they used to be. Ha, our race and kingdom are all extinct now, so they can only be considered our former enemies."
Telling a joke that wasn’t funny at all, the half-fish knight was quite cheerful.
At this time, Lu Ping’an inevitably recalled the previous description of the "Wave-Cutting Technique."
[Royal Wave Inheritance School: From an axe school in a coastal kingdom in the world of Hilgon, good at naval battles and fighting against waves, it is said that the ultimate Wave-Cutting can slash the sea.]
"The world of Hilgon?"
This wasn’t just some coastal kingdom; it seemed that the entire world was a water world, and most of the creatures there might belong to the Aquatic Clan.
"...You know? It’s rare. It’s not some great world. It’s just a small water world where four-fifths of the area is ocean, and the total population might not even surpass ten million. Just the arrival of a single Evil God brought about its end. Heh, if it weren’t for Mr. Rust Knight, I probably would have been buried there too."
While it sounded simple, there was a lot hidden behind those words.
Worlds like Earth and the Silent Mountain Range have multiple deities, vast areas, satellite planets, and a population of billions. However, most worlds have a small scale, with populations ranging from tens to hundreds of thousands to nearly ten million. They only have a few relatively rich city zones.
Hannah’s world of Hilgon was such a small world... and its destruction didn’t require a world-ending catastrophe or an overload of Evil God corruption. Just the gaze of one malicious Evil God was enough.
"Six-mouthed, Three-hearted...?"
"Yeah, the Six-mouthed, Three-hearted, Eight-clawed Lord. It’s better not to mention the name of such a powerful Evil God directly. We either call it by this pseudonym or just call it..."
"...The Dark Continent Devourer." Hannah said with gritted teeth, her voice filled with rage that she could barely suppress.
But the next moment, she shook her head.
"That’s the grudge of the living, not the dead. We lingering spirits have no ability to leave the Rust Knight’s Divine Kingdom or to interfere with the world of the living."
Although she said that, Lu Ping’an suspected that the exceptional treatment he received might have something to do with the "Hostility Marker (Lower Gold)" on him. The fact that even the Life Bank couldn’t decipher its true name indirectly proved its incredible power, which was probably not on the same level as the deities Lu Ping’an had previously encountered.
"The dead have no ability to take revenge, so what about the living who are entrusted by the dead..." Lu Ping’an smiled, but probed the bottom line of this matter.
There is no love without reason, and also no hatred without reason.
His own strength at this age is considered good, and as a inheritor of the opponent’s school, it can barely pass.
But just this level of his, enjoying one "level-fixed" duel is almost enough... there are hundreds of warriors like Lu Ping’an, why should the Heroic Spirit Warrior pay a huge price to get him here?
The consumption of transporting him to the Secret Realm would obviously far exceed that of dispatching a Heroic Spirit Warrior and directly conducting a duel in the Knight’s Secret Realm.
Perhaps it was the "Hostility Marker" on his body that led the other party to improve his treatment and bring him to this Valhalla, exclusive to the dead.
"What the living want to do shouldn’t be managed by the dead, and even less by Mr. Rust Knight."
"So, they can’t directly interfere, but they can hint... interesting."
Seeing Lu Ping’an so cooperative, Hannah laughed softly, revealing a mouthful of big white teeth, a bit creepy.
"Let’s go."
"Where to?"
"I’ll show you around the Land of Warriors, and see some of my clansmen and fellow apprentices by the way. After all, you are a living warrior invited by me to duel, and I have the authority to arrange it up to seven days later at the latest..."
The Divine Kingdom is always a Land of Rules, and actions within it must follow the "rules".
And those rules are basically the deities’ "Divine Positions".
The Rust Knight is the lord of just knights, and within his path, there are 2-tier starting Dueling Swordsmen, and famous third-tier iron-can Athletic Knights (forcefully pulling people into duels)... It is obvious that within his Divine Position, there are "duels" and "fair confrontations".
This is the realm of the fallen warriors, a place prepared by the Rust Knight for the warriors after death. Normally, it is not allowed for the living to enter... but if the living are invited to participate in a duel between warriors, it is another matter entirely.
Such a duel is a great opportunity for the living, whether it is the gain after winning or simply dueling with these "ancient warriors", it is possible to obtain the opponent’s inheritance, martial arts, or even weapons.
Lu Ping’an already knows a lot of information; if these dead warriors take a liking to you, they may spend their own scarce resources to invite you for a generous duel.
Obviously, Miss Hannah has paid so much to bring Lu Ping’an, a living person, directly here, and it is not just for a simple duel.
".... I’ve talked with them about it, but how much you learn depends on you."
Hannah Berkshire used the "duel" rules to delay the duel as much as possible, giving Lu Ping’an more opportunities.
It obviously requires a lot of effort, and may even be worth more than Lu Ping’an himself.
"Should I thank you?"
"No, you have the mark of the evil god, as long as you live, you will disgust it... but don’t approach its territory and world before you become strong enough."
These were very realistic words. Just by living, Lu Ping’an was destined to not get along with that evil god and its minions, and the curse that turned into a mad dog when they met meant that both sides could only kill or be killed.
So, increasing Lu Ping’an’s strength would naturally be revenge against that evil god... although at this level of revenge, it probably wouldn’t even count as pulling out a piece of hair.
"...Is it meaningful?"
"For 370 years, we have been supporting any warrior who is willing to confront that guy. We have gone through three worlds and met at least a thousand warriors, but not one of them has brought back a sufficient offering... It probably means nothing to it, but for us, at least it can help pass the time, making our mundane daily life more hopeful, which is somewhat meaningful."
The Shark Fishman Knight loves to smile; maybe she was also an optimistic "girl" when she was young.
At this point in time, her smile doesn’t show a trace of hatred, just some numbness, paleness, expectation, helplessness... and inexplicably, Lu Ping’an can’t laugh either.
— End of Chapter 628 —