King of Knights and the Sword of Promised Victory

Facing the suddenly appearing demon, Lu Su quietly took a few steps back.

"No need to be so nervous. I mean no harm." The cloaked demon noticed Lu Su’s small movement and said calmly, "But you probably won’t feel at ease just letting him go."

"How about you leave a few subordinates here to watch him, and we go somewhere else to talk?"

Hearing this, Lu Su could not make sense of what the other party wanted to do for a moment.

After a moment of silence, he still chose to agree. "All right."

In Lu Su’s senses, although the other party was somewhat troublesome, he was still within Ulquiorra’s ability to handle.

He then vanished from where he stood, taking the cloaked demon away from the town in case he had to fight while also dealing with the demons in the city.

Before long, he reached the farthest distance at which he could maintain the Ghost Shadow Soldiers.

Since he did not know whether the being before him possessed some long-range detection method, Lu Su did not choose to deal with the demon he had tied up earlier.

He was already prepared to leave this place once their conversation was over.

Yet the cloaked demon’s first words startled Lu Su. "I noticed you back in King City."

"You are the strongest outsider I have seen so far."

Hearing those words, Lu Su could not help furrowing his brow slightly.

He had not sensed the other party’s aura at all back in King City.

"I told you not to be nervous. I mean no harm." As though he had seen through Lu Su’s wariness, the cloaked demon chuckled.

Then, to show his sincerity, he took off his hood and revealed his true face to Lu Su.

Lu Su could not help freezing when he saw the other party’s appearance.

Standing before him was an extremely old man, utterly at odds with his upright and vigorous physique.

"Surprised, aren’t you?" The demon who had removed his hood sighed. "I never expected to live this long either."

"Heh. I’m afraid those people in King City would not even recognize me anymore."

Yet Lu Su paid no attention to the enormous amount of information in his words and merely asked calmly, "What do you want from me?"

He still remembered the warnings recorded in his textbooks when he was studying: never trust demons.

Thus, Lu Su did not let down his guard just because of a few words from the demon before him.

Hearing his question, the demon shook his head slightly. "My name is Guran. I know you will not trust me anytime soon, but I have a way to make you lower your guard against me a little."

A trace of confusion arose in Lu Su’s heart, but then he heard Guran continue, "Tun Shi**, I %￥#!"

Lu Su then stared dumbfoundedly at Guran.

He had no idea why the other party had suddenly started swearing.

Seeing Lu Su’s reaction, Guran looked somewhat surprised. "You do not even know His name?"

"Tun Shi** is the mastermind behind the erosion of your world."

"Hm?"

Only then did Guran notice that the final two characters of the name he had spoken had been automatically censored. He had been too busy venting his emotions earlier to notice such trivial details.

"I see." Guran’s expression instantly became extremely complicated. He stared fixedly at the youth before him, as though seeing someone else’s shadow in him. "You carry a heavy burden too."

Lu Su was somewhat baffled. "What do you mean?"

Guran looked at him quietly. "I was not the one who censored His name."

"Tun Shi**."

Lu Su was half-convinced by Guran’s words. After all, it was not as if whatever Guran said had to be true.

Still, this was the first time he had heard of Tun Shi**.

In the other secret realms before this, even when demons mentioned the mastermind, they generally referred to it as that being.

Though it did not make much difference. Heads that were supposed to explode would still explode.

Only now did Lu Su realize that Guran’s head had not burst like a watermelon. "Why are you fine?"

A wave of sorrow appeared on Guran’s face, but he quickly concealed it. "…Merely Mother’s gift."

Then he changed the subject. "Tell me about your world."

"You have probably noticed that secret realms have been appearing in your world more and more frequently lately, haven’t you?"

Lu Su was startled by this. "How do you know?"

Based on what Lyon had said earlier, he could basically determine that this secret realm had not appeared long ago.

So by all rights, Guran should not know so much about the outside world.

"Because we went through it too, of course." Guran sneered, then said seriously, "Did you think Tun Shi** had only set His sights on you?"

At those words, a terrible feeling suddenly rose in Lu Su’s heart.

"Tun Shi** is eroding."

"More than one world."

The sudden flood of information left Lu Su feeling dizzy. He had never imagined that he would obtain such astonishing information in a secret realm he had stumbled into by accident.

No.

Combined with what Guran had just said, perhaps it had not been an accident.

But after only a moment, Lu Su calmed himself. "You mean that because some worlds have already perished, He can spare more power to invest in our world?"

Blue Star had always seen many weak secret realms appear as well.

If, as Guran said, the mastermind was eroding many worlds at once, those weak worlds would not be able to hold out for long at all.

Their destruction was only a matter of time.

Yet Guran wore a mocking smile. "Not destruction. Conversion."

"Though for some people, there is no real difference."

As he spoke, he poked the ground beneath his feet with the rusty sword in his hand. "Just like this place."

After a moment of silence, Lu Su asked, "So what did you come to me for?"

Faced with Lu Su’s question, Guran stared at him before asking about something else. "Adams’s two swords should be in your hands, right?"

"Can you take them out and let me see them?"

Lu Su hesitated when he heard that, but he ultimately prepared to take out the two longswords that had already become scrap metal.

He did not know why the man before him had mentioned Adams’s two swords, but their power had already been condensed into materials. Two pieces of scrap metal could hardly stir up any trouble.

With that thought, the King’s Sword and Starry Sky Holy Sword, their Sword Bodies utterly dim, were planted in the dirt before him.

Seeing the two longswords in such a state, Guran’s eyes flashed with an expression of sure enough. He stepped forward and gently stroked the Starry Sky Holy Sword. "You have suffered, being controlled by that traitor’s descendants all this time."

As his voice fell, the Starry Sky Holy Sword trembled slightly, as if responding to him.

Guran then turned his gaze to the King’s Sword. Anger and sorrow flashed across his face, but in the end, he said nothing and merely let out a heavy sigh.

A moment later, after composing himself, the elderly man said to Lu Su, "Just as I expected, you can extract the abilities of others and use them for yourselves."

"What tremendous power."

After sighing in admiration, Guran instantly grew serious. "I want to make a deal with you."

Hearing the word deal, Lu Su immediately became wary. Although the man before him had revealed so much information without having his head blown apart by Tun Shi**, which had greatly cleared him of suspicion, Lu Su remained extremely cautious when it came to deals.

Ignoring the youth’s vigilance, Guran continued, "The deal is that you and I join forces to break out of this secret realm. Afterward, you take me to someone in your world who can make decisions."

"My payment will be the sword in my hand."

"What do you say?"

To display his sincerity, Guran directly threw the rusty sword in his hand beside Lu Su. "You can extract its ability first."

Yet Lu Su remained unmoved. Every alarm in his heart had been raised to the highest level.

After all, Guran’s deal sounded exactly like he wanted him to become a Human Traitor.

As though he could see that Lu Su was preparing to refuse, the elderly man sighed and pulled open his cloak.

What appeared before Lu Su next was a body emitting a faint glow.

Yet compared to the body itself, the most eye-catching thing was the giant hollow in his abdomen, where a glass-like spherical object was firmly embedded.

Lu Su was somewhat baffled by the sight. He did not know why Guran had suddenly turned into an exhibitionist.

Just as he was about to ask, the card belonging to Little Spider in his mind suddenly sent out a ripple, asking him to release her.

Lu Su froze, but still summoned Little Spider.

"Hi, hi! Lu Su, what do you need from this great spider?"

"Didn’t you tell me to let you out?"

"?"

One man and one spider stared wide-eyed at each other, falling into silence.

At that moment, an inexplicable ripple emerged, and a phone appeared in Guran’s hand.

Lu Su’s eyes widened at the sight. Of course, he recognized it as the phone that had appeared the last time Little Spider’s Observer’s Gaze Trait activated.

Before he could say anything, the phone began to ring.

A trace of bewilderment first appeared on Guran’s face, followed by realization. He answered the phone. "I accept your deal."

Hearing those words, the elderly man remained silent for a long time before uttering a single word. "Good."

Then, under Lu Su’s gaze, he forcibly tore the sphere out of his abdomen.

The next moment, the phone and sphere vanished together.

In Lu Su’s senses, Guran’s aura rapidly declined after he pulled out the sphere. Before long, he was already on the verge of death.

Yet unlike his exceedingly weak aura, Guran’s eyes shone brightly at the end of his life. "It seems you are the same as me."

"I hope you do not follow in my footsteps."

"Wait!" Lu Su immediately shouted. "Why did you choose me?"

Yet Guran did not answer his question directly. Instead, he glanced at Amina, who was peeking around in the distance. "You are a good person."

After saying that, the elderly man fell completely silent.

"Huh?!"

Lu Su stared blankly at Guran, who had already turned into a corpse before him.

All he could say was that the situation had completely spiraled out of control with Little Spider’s appearance.

"Hey, snap out of it, Lu Su."

At that moment, a pale front leg waved in front of the youth’s face.

Ignoring Little Spider’s antics, Lu Su twitched his lips and picked up the rusty sword beside him.

Since things had come to this,

he might as well eat first.

He already had some guesses about who was on the other end of the phone, but he needed more information to confirm them.

Before long, the rusty sword’s material appeared in Lu Su’s hand.

Jade Grade Blade of Salvation (Color).

He stared blankly at the dazzling, multicolored material in his hand.

This was the first time the youth had seen material of such quality. He had originally believed that Color Quality materials could not possibly exist.

"…Could this thing have been a Hall of Fame Grade weapon before?"

Lu Su looked in disbelief at the rusty sword he had tossed aside.

Then he turned his gaze toward Guran’s corpse.

"No way…"

Lu Su could not help swallowing before condensing Guran’s material.

Jade Grade Heavenly Mandate Holy Swordsman (Color).

It was the same color as the Blade of Salvation.

"Just as expected."

For a moment, Lu Su did not know what to say. These two newly acquired materials would undoubtedly let him advance Lily and Silver Arm to Jade Grade.

With that in mind, he put away the materials. After standing silently for a while, he sighed, dug a pit, and buried Guran together with the three swords.

It counted as a final show of respect for the good person who had inexplicably given him two great gifts.

That was right. In Lu Su’s eyes, Guran had already been moved from the demon category to the good person category.

After tidying up the scene a little, he hurriedly found a cave and prepared to advance two cards.

Inside the cave, Lu Su looked solemnly at Silver Arm and the Pure White Knight Princess floating before him.

This was his first time trying to use a Chain Card in a card advancement, and it also involved two Color materials.

He hoped the final result would not disappoint him.

As Lu Su wrapped his Spiritual Power around the two cards and six materials, a mere blink brought him to the Mysterious Space.

Please continue compiling your story.

In the Mysterious Space, Lu Su ignored the message surfacing in his mind and merely gazed quietly at the tranquil expanse.

Only after a long while did he begin creating this card.

After completing her journey, Altria successfully inherited the throne.

Yet at that time, the kingdom was already beset by turmoil both within and without.

To stabilize the situation, Altria had no choice but to conceal her gender and marry Guinevere as king.

Of course, her honest nature still led her to confess everything to the queen on their wedding night.

Although Guinevere was deeply disappointed, she chose to forgive her.

Later, Lancelot, the foremost Knight of the Knights of the Round Table, discovered the estrangement between the king and queen. He personally spoke with the queen, wishing to share the king’s burdens.

It was then that Lancelot discovered Altria’s true identity.

And so, he and Queen Guinevere fell in love.

Setting aside her unfortunate marriage to the queen, Altria advanced courageously after ascending the throne. Leading the Knights of the Round Table, she achieved countless great deeds, and no one could withstand the kingdom’s sword edge.

Yet during one battle in which she failed to uphold chivalry, the Sword in the Stone she wielded broke.

Thus, Merlin brought her to the Sacred Lake and obtained the Holy Sword Excalibur from the Lady of the Lake.

When Merlin asked whether she would choose the sword or the scabbard, Altria chose the sword, which represented dominion.

Perhaps because of this, the scabbard, Avalon, eventually left the king.

But even so, Excalibur, the Star Holy Sword, still possessed unimaginable power.

To bind this power, Altria and the Knights of the Round Table placed restraints upon it.

Yet as time passed, the knights under Altria gradually began to harbor some dissatisfaction.

Because Altria was cold as a machine, calculating the gains and losses of everything as though she had no emotions at all.

Until one day, the Knight of the Round Table Tristan said, "King Arthur does not understand the Human Heart."

The king’s position was shaken.

In the tenth year of Altria’s reign, Lancelot and Guinevere’s relationship was exposed. With no other choice, Lancelot chose to flee.

But when Guinevere was about to be executed, he chose to return and rescue her.

From then on, the Knights of the Round Table stood on the verge of collapse.

During this time, Altria’s sister Morgan created the artificial human "Mordred" in her image.

Mordred deeply admired Altria, her nominal "father." After becoming a Knight of the Round Table, she chose to lay everything bare.

Unfortunately, Altria was only shocked by this.

The King of Perfection knew full well how severe the consequences would be if the other party’s identity as an "illegitimate child (female)" was exposed.

Faced with Mordred’s request to declare her right of succession, she chose to refuse.

Yet she did not develop any misgivings toward Mordred because of this. Instead, while she was away on campaign, she entrusted her with the heavy responsibility of protecting the kingdom, hoping to move her.

Mordred betrayed her trust and gathered the feudal lords to launch a rebellion.

By the time Altria returned from her expedition, she was already utterly exhausted. In the end, she used the holy lance Rhongomyniad to bring the battle known as the "Battle of Camlann" to an end.

After this battle, Altria knew that nothing could be saved.

The lonely king who had devoted everything to the Empire finally fell.

At the very end, she merely had Bedivere return Holy Sword Excalibur to the Lady of the Lake, thus ending her life.

As the long card-making process came to an end, Lu Su returned to reality with a weary expression.

But when he prepared to put away the cards, he froze.

Because at that moment, only Altria’s card floated before him.

"What is going on?"

Lu Su puzzledly stored Altria in his mind.

But immediately afterward, his eyes widened uncontrollably.

---

King of Knights Altria

Rank: Jade Grade

Quality: Rainbow

Category: Creature

Skills:

Mana Burst

Wind King Barrier: Wraps wind around the Sword Body to form a magical sheath, concealing the Sword Body while increasing attack power and accuracy. When needed, it can also release the condensed air to unleash *Gale Force*.

Holy Sword · Excalibur: One of the most powerful weapons wielded by Altria, and one that stood at the pinnacle even among Holy Swords. It was one of the ultimate divine constructs born from the planet. It could convert its wielder's mana into a beam of light with fortress-destroying power.

Thirteen Restraints, Round Table Deliberation: Because Holy Sword Excalibur was far too powerful, when Altria obtained it, she and the Knights of the Round Table under her command placed thirteen restraints upon it to bind its power. With every restraint released, Holy Sword Excalibur became more powerful.

Traits:

Instinct, Red Dragon Bloodline, Holy Sword Enhancement

King of Perfection: Having endured the baptism of blood and fire, Altria had become the perfect king in the hearts of everyone in Great Britain. When she was present, she could greatly enhance the abilities of other cards. Cards with the Knights of the Round Table Bond received double the enhancement.

Solitary Pilgrimage: The King of Perfection was also the lonely king. Altria's heart, like steel, had long grown accustomed to enduring loneliness, so emotion-based effects could not affect her state of mind. (Note: Whether positive or negative.)

Introduction: The perfect lonely king, wielder of the Star Holy Sword who saved the world.

Advancement: Silver grade Pure White Knight Princess Altria → Jade Grade King of Knights Altria → Master grade Lion King Altria

Bond: When appearing alongside Lancelot and others of the same series, the Knights of the Round Table effect could be activated.

When appearing alongside Morgan and others of the same series, the Sisterly Affection effect could be activated.

When appearing alongside Mordred and others of the same series, the Your Majesty, Call Me Crown Prince! effect could be activated.

---

"Rainbow!?"

A disbelieving voice mixed with wild joy echoed out from the cave.