Chapter 148: In this life of mine, the thing I regret most is not taking

Northern Region, Snow Sheep Village.

The girl woke up from a sweet dream, and her first reaction was to touch her right earlobe.

"It's so good..."

Looking at the beautiful emerald ear clip in her palm, Dorovai's mouth curled up slightly, and a smile as beautiful as a painting bloomed on her exquisite face.

If the knights in the village saw this gentle and beautiful side of their young lord, they would have been shocked to the point of dropping their jaws.

After all, the young lord was a fierce person who beat up a Transcendent Knight at twelve, hunted and fought with bears and tigers alone at fifteen, and killed a named monster with her own strength at twenty!

How could she show such a moving smile like an ordinary girl in love?

"Time to go."

Dorovai packed her bags simply, picked up the Lionheart Sword placed at the head of the bed, and prepared to set off.

Since she had already sworn an oath in the name of Mason, even if it wasn't for the grain hoarded in Lucas's castle, she must cut off the head of that cold-blooded lord within three days to pay tribute to the people who were starved to death in the Ice Plains territory.

Dorovai clenched her fists, silently holding her sword as she opened the door.

This trip was not for practicing sword skills, but only for killing.

Outside the door was a warm snow.

On the open space at the entrance of the village, Uncle Lansen and a group of Eastern Region knights who had participated in the Dragon-Lion War were already waiting there.

Looking at the blue-haired girl walking toward him like a valiant knight, his expression was complicated; there was dissatisfaction, and there was also gratification.

The dissatisfaction was because the other party couldn't see the big picture like him, and the gratification was because she had indeed grown into a true knight.

Because only a true knight would not ignore any crying person on the road, but would reach out to help regardless of everything when they saw it, even if... the price might be her life.

"Young Lord, do you need me to send a few knights to follow you to Ice Plains Castle?"

After hesitating for a long time, Uncle Lansen spoke slowly.

"No need. Lucas is only at the peak of Morning Star. Even if he besieged me with the knights of Ice Plains Castle, he would not be a match for me in one move."

Dorovai shook her head, her expression calm.

This was not arrogance, nor was it confidence; it was just an indisputable fact.

For her, holding the Lionheart Sword and having practiced the Mason family's ancestral Lion King Breathing Technique to half the level of the former Grand Duke, let alone Morning Star, even an ordinary Crescent would not last long in front of her.

"That's true. That is just a greedy hyena on the ground; how can it compare to a lion on a high mountain?" Uncle Lansen exclaimed.

"After killing Lucas, remember to come back early. That way, even if the Frost Tooth Knights come to arrest you, as long as the Lord of the Northern Region doesn't come in person, we will wipe out the incoming enemies for you," he instructed the girl.

"Yes, Young Lord, we will definitely protect you with our lives!"

"Young Lord is great. I have long been displeased with that beast Lucas. You must stab him a few more times before cutting off his head!"

"Failing to protect the Lord in the past was already a dereliction of duty. Now, if there is a chance, I will definitely shed the last drop of blood from this remnant body for you, Young Lord."

A group of surviving Eastern Region knights also spoke one after another.

Their expressions were different, some impassioned, some joyful, some solemn.

But without exception, the knights' eyes looking at the girl in front of them were full of reverence.

This was not out of respect for her bloodline, but because in the past ten-plus years, the girl's diligence in practicing sword skills day after day against the biting cold wind, and her compassion and help for the weak, had long been deeply imprinted in the hearts of these knights.

She was not just the orphaned daughter of the Grand Duke; she was Dorovai, a true knight.

They firmly believed that the girl would inevitably become a great knight like the former Grand Duke Mason, or even surpass him, in the future.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.

Surging torrents of magic power erupted from these knights, and the magic power of different colors rendered the snowy sky for a time, as brilliant as the aurora at the end of the world.

These dozens of people were, without exception, all at the Morning Star Rank or above!

Some even reached the Crescent Rank.

They were the core elite knights in the Eastern Region army that had once resisted the King of Gluttony, and many of them had even been lords who held power in one region.

In the final battle of the Dragon-Lion War, Grand Duke Mason, knowing that there would be no result other than death, chose to order all loyal knights to take his only surviving orphaned daughter and flee, preserving the living strength for the next resistance in the future.

And he himself stayed behind as a Duke to cover for everyone, eventually dying under the blade of the Crimson Fire.

Having experienced countless life-and-death battles in the most tragic war on the entire continent in recent years, and having worked hard day after day for ten years in the guilt of the country being broken and the family being destroyed, and the Lord dying alone for them.

To this day, the strength of these surviving knights had long had a gap with the knights in the other three regions of Sossia, which was why they could achieve the feat of everyone being Morning Star, and the outstanding ones being Crescent.

Bang.

I don't know who knelt down on one knee first, and then all the knights, together with Uncle Lansen who was at the head, knelt down on one knee toward Dorovai.

"Young Lord, we are here waiting for your return," they said in unison.

Looking at this scene, the girl did not speak for a long time, and finally just placed her right hand on her left shoulder and bowed deeply to everyone.

Then, under their gaze, she set off in the direction of Ice Plains Castle, her figure, which was not tall and could even be called slender, gradually disappearing into the wind and snow.

"I feel that one day, Young Lord will lead us to overthrow the King of Gluttony."

After Dorovai's figure disappeared completely, a knight muttered.

Hearing this, Uncle Lansen turned around slowly and looked directly at the other party. His eyes, as calm as water, made the knight shrink his neck in fear.

"W-what's wrong? Knight Commander."

"From now on, we should call Dorovai Mason our Lord," Uncle Lansen said calmly.

Although the voice was soft, it carried an unquestionable determination.

"... Yes, Knight Commander!" After a long silence, the knights answered in unison.

At the same time.

Southern Region, William Territory.

A great battle was taking place in a quiet forest somewhere.

Boom, boom, boom!

Accompanied by a series of explosions, two green and one white streams of light were intertwined at a terrifying speed that exceeded the reaction limit of ordinary people.

The center where the streams of light intertwined seemed to have become an eye of the storm that could destroy everything. Everything in the forest—shrubs, grass, and towering ancient trees—was shredded into pieces the moment they touched the streams of light.

Not far away, beside the corpse of a huge monster, the brothers Luo Yi and Luo Lan supported each other, looking at the confrontation between the streams of light with worried eyes, panting heavily.

Their bodies were covered with terrifying bloodstains, and the culprit was undoubtedly the giant beast that died beside them.

Boom!

After an unknown amount of time of confrontation, the white stream of light was ultimately no match for the siege of the two green streams of light, and finally fell to the ground exhausted under a tacit joint attack from both sides.

And at this time, as the carried magic torrent dissipated, they revealed their true colors.

Among the two green streams of light, one was a tall man with a sturdy build holding a pitch-black long sword, and the other was a huge black wolf with a shoulder height of over three meters, majestic and imposing.

It was Kalen and his mount, Black Tail.

And in the white stream of light was a figure wearing a mask, whose true face could not be seen, with a hideous claw mark running through the entire chest, lying on the ground, life or death unknown.

Seeing that the battle had finally been decided, Luo Yi and Luo Lan immediately supported each other and walked over.

"Kalen, thank you. In the future, if you quarrel with Danielle, I will remain neutral," Luo Lan said gratefully.

"Bastard, you damn sheep-coward, an assassin without any honor, if you have the ability, wait until our injuries are healed before sneaking an attack!" Luo Yi kicked the figure on the ground angrily.

They followed their mother's orders to come to William Territory to help Lord Belen deal with a named monster that had inexplicably fallen into madness and was slaughtering in the territory.

After finally luring this monster into the uninhabited forest and killing it after a great deal of effort and being beaten into a state of injury.

Just when they wanted to go back to find a pharmacist to treat their injuries, this assassin wearing a mask suddenly popped out of the grass and launched a sneak attack.

Caught off guard, and because the other party's strength was truly strong, the two brothers were beaten back steadily and could only struggle to support themselves.

Just when they were about to be defeated and killed, fortunately, Kalen rode the Black Abyss Wolf and arrived in time to support them, eventually succeeding in killing the enemy.

"Brother Luo Yi, wait a moment. If he dies, we won't be able to find the mastermind who sent him," Kalen advised.

"Rest assured, I have a sense of proportion; just kicking him a few times won't kill him."

Hearing this, Luo Yi stopped his movements and explained, his anger still not fully dissipated.

Click.

Just at this moment, the assassin who was on the verge of death on the ground suddenly stiffened and lay motionless on the ground.

"He's dead." Kalen squatted down, reached out to flick the assassin's nose, and said helplessly after a moment of silence.

Luo Yi: "..."

"Cough, cough, how about this: in the future, if you quarrel with Danielle, as long as it's her fault, I'll stand on your side," Luo Yi coughed twice and said awkwardly.

"My business is small, but since the assassin is dead, I'm afraid it will be difficult for us to find the mastermind behind this series of events," Kalen said with a wry smile.

Hearing this, Luo Yi and Luo Lan couldn't help but frown tightly.

A named monster that inexplicably went mad and rushed into the village to slaughter, an assassin who sneaked an attack while they were exhausted... undoubtedly, this must be a conspiracy connected together.

"It's not that Brother kicked the assassin to death; he should have hidden poison in his mouth. When the mission fails, he will swallow it himself. I once accidentally read in a book that only professionally trained assassins can do this step."

After pondering for a moment while resting his chin on his hand, Luo Lan suddenly spoke.

He bent down and carefully took off the assassin's mask. When his true face was revealed, all three of them couldn't help but gasp in shock.

What kind of face was that! It was as if the face of a living person had been wiped away with a handkerchief.

No hair, no ups and downs, not even the texture of skin; it was more like bloated sheepskin paper soaked in water, perfunctorily pasted on the skull.

Only a pair of eyes and a slightly protruding nose bridge and lips could barely show a little bit of human appearance.

Luo Lan endured the nausea and gently lifted the assassin's eyelids, revealing a pair of gray-white, beast-like pupils.

"He is a Witcher." Seeing this pair of beast pupils, Luo Lan made a judgment.

"No wonder this guy is so strong; it turns out to be this kind of crazy profession," Luo Yi realized suddenly.

Witcher is the fourth-rank Crescent Rank profession of Hunter.

Hunters promoted to Witchers often have more or less transplanted some monster organs on their bodies.

While these monster organs bring them individual combat power that is peerless among the same rank in the Crescent Rank, they also bring a heavy burden to their sanity.

There is even a joke among Transcendents—"Nine out of ten Witchers are crazy, and the other one doesn't know he's going crazy."

"Could the mastermind be the Storm Church?" Luo Yi guessed.

"It shouldn't be. The Storm Church has widespread believers in the Southern Region, and it can even be said that it is the most pious place among the four regions. The Storm Church has no interest in breaking the current stable situation."

Kalen shook his head and denied it.

Lu En was still preaching in Twilight City. If he provoked the hostility of the Martha family, it would be bad.

As his best friend, Kalen had an obligation to clarify for him.

"During the Dragon-Lion War, I remember that the army sent by the Royal City had many hunters active in it. Presumably, that King of Gluttony had long ago asked for the series of potion formulas needed for the Hunter's Path from the Pope of Wind Breath City."

Luo Lan said pointedly.

"Is it really because of that tyrant? It seems that the peaceful Southern Region is still too much of an eyesore in his eyes..." Luo Yi gritted his teeth.

"Let's go. Lord Belen was seriously injured while fighting the named monster to protect his people. He shouldn't live long. We have to go and witness the succession for him."

William Castle.

In the lord's bedroom.

"Cough, cough."

The old man who had once presented a bouquet of forget-me-nots to little Haidun at the baby honor ceremony and blessed him to cherish his youth and those who loved him in the future was now lying on the bed, on the verge of death.

In order to protect the people, he fought the named monster with the body of a Morning Star. Being able to hold on until now was already a miracle.

And his only son, Baya William, was kneeling by his bed, full of sadness.

Kalen, Luo Yi, and Luo Lan, who had rushed here, stood quietly on the side as witnesses.

"Baya, my only son, you will inherit my territory and inherit the name of William, but before... before this, I need you to make an oath to the gods," Belen held the bed and forced himself to speak with difficulty.

"Father, just say it. No matter how absurd or difficult the oath is, I will abide by it," Baya shouted with a crying voice.

"I need you to swear by your honor that you will be loyal to the sage named Xia Mingyu for the rest of your life and obey all his orders, even if the price is death."

As if it were a flash of light before death, the old man spoke in a sonorous and powerful voice.

Once these words were spoken, the three people watching silently on the side immediately showed an expression of "as expected."

Lord Belen had really not lived for so many years in vain; his vision was sharp. He knew that whatever he left for his son, it was not as precious as leaving him a lord who was as wise and promising as the King.

"With the Seven Gods above, I, Baya William, swear by my honor that I will be loyal to the sage Xia Mingyu for the rest of my life and execute all his orders, whether they are legitimate or illegitimate, reasonable or unreasonable..."

Although he was incredibly confused in his heart, looking at his dying father, Baya still made the oath without hesitation.

"Good, very good."

Seeing that his only son had finally finished the oath, the old man closed his eyes with satisfaction.

"In this life of mine, the thing I regret most is not taking that bouquet of forget-me-nots..."

After he muttered this sentence, his breathing gradually disappeared.

"Father!"

Accompanied by a shrill cry, the oldest Viscount lord in the Southern Region, the second place in the former Twilight City Martial Arts Assembly, and a qualified lord, Belen William, went to the Underworld.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 149 =====