Bai En, listening to Captain Rill from the kitchen, raised his hand and said, "I want to go too, Captain Rill."
Participating in the Royal Knights Squad selection and the journey to the Shadow Palace was unavoidable. At this stage, he needed to constantly adapt and enhance his strength through battle, using war to sustain war.
Fortunately, Lucius Zogratis, the time demon possessor, had not yet accumulated enough time, and there was still a relatively ample period until the final battle.
"Eh? So, all of you are going to participate in this Royal Knights Squad selection?" Captain Rill mused, stroking his chin.
The next second, as if he had thought of a brilliant idea, he excitedly pulled out his paintbrush, a little giddy: "How about I participate too?"
"Participating in the selection as a mysterious person, it will definitely surprise the members of the other squads. Who knows, it might even inspire me to paint!"
"Oh my~ I really am a genius."
Gosen raised his hand in protest. If even the Captain participated in this selection, wouldn't he just have one more enemy for no reason? His chances of entering the Royal Knights Squad would become even smaller.
And those six hundred thousand yul that were calling to him... "Captain Rill, it's too unfair for you to participate in the Royal Knights Squad! Who could possibly beat you then? Leave this kind of thing to us, mm... someone who will earn back face for Captain."
"Besides, Captains shouldn't be allowed to participate in the Royal Knights Squad selection, right? Otherwise, in the end, it would just turn into a battle between the nine Order of Knights Captains."
"Is that so?" Captain Rill murmured with a hint of regret.
Bai En came out of the kitchen with a fragrant late-night snack, "The selection rules don't say that Captains can't participate in this Royal Knights Squad selection, you know~"
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
The moon was bright, and the stars were sparse.
In a plain in a secluded area of the Royal Realm, a magnificent castle stood. A sun-like emblem was carved on the castle's gate. This was the base of the Golden Dawn, ranked first among the nine Order of Knights Squads.
On the quiet grassland outside the base, William Vangeance, the Captain of the Golden Dawn, sat on the ground, enduring the cold wind, gazing at the full moon in the sky, as if waiting for someone.
He didn't know if what he was doing was right.
But... on one side was Magic Emperor Julius, whom he admired and respected; on the other side was Licht, the elf with whom he shared a deep bond and a single body.
Vangeance couldn't make a decision.
So he left the final choice to Magic Emperor Julius and Licht. Only... the victor could continue!
"Oh my~ Little brother, you've waited a long time." A sleepy-eyed man, yawning, appeared behind Vangeance at some point and waved to him.
If the members of the Aqua Deer Squad saw him, they would definitely recognize this guy.
The man was Laiya, one of the three polarities of the Midnight Sun, who had teamed up with them against the Demon God in the Dwarf Kingdom.
The moment he appeared and greeted him, William Vangeance took off his golden mask, revealing the black cursed scar on the upper half of his face, but gradually... Vangeance's hair grew longer, and the terrifying scar began to fade.
Once the scar completely disappeared, it was a face as handsome as a woman's, with a special vermilion tattoo like eyeshadow around his eyes. Turning to look at the newcomer, Licht smiled.
"You've come, Laiya."
"Patri... no." Laiya stopped himself and rephrased: "Little brother Licht, you seem very happy today? Usually, you're always gloomy, which is quite scary, you know~"
"Haha..." Licht chuckled twice, "We are about to complete our plan and reunite with our elf companions, so of course, I'm happy."
The two looked at each other, and the wind began to stir.
"I've done as you said, revealing the location of our base to the Magic Knights. Recently, there have been many Mages around the base."
"I know."
Laiya paused, his expression not as relaxed as Licht's, "Going alone against the strongest Mage of the Clover Kingdom—Magic Emperor Julius—is still too risky, isn't it? I'll go with you."
"It's alright, Laiya. I've been preparing for this day for a long time. Besides, this is also something I promised my only human friend, Vangeance."
"We elves cannot be as cunning and deceitful as humans were five hundred years ago."
"I will win."
Hearing this, Laiya sighed and then stopped trying to dissuade him, "If that's the case, then I'll quietly await your good news, little brother Patri."
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
Seven days after the Star Festival was the day of the Royal Knights Squad selection.
Mages from various squads participating in the selection gathered at the circular arena at the foot of the Royal Realm, which was also where the Magic Knights selection took place last September.
"It seems I'm going to be late?"
Bai En was eating dessert in front of a dessert shop, estimating the time. He had been researching and developing Limitless Magic these past few days, using his Six Eyes quite frequently. Thinking there was still some time before the selection, he quietly slipped out of the arena.
As a result, he spent a bit too long at the dessert shop.
Just as he was about to rush to the arena, a strange magical power fluctuation emanated from a nearby street. He thought about it, realizing it was only a few steps away. Bai En finished the dessert in his hand and walked to the alley entrance next door.
Two Mages wearing The Azure Orcas capes were engaged in a fierce "exchange" with a strangely dressed fellow.
"I will not allow you to insult the Magic Knights!"
"I'll use my magic to make you deeply regret your insolence!"
The Mage of The Azure Orcas roared, his blue grimoire flipping beside him: "Ice Magic, Ice Thorn Pierce."
Sharp ice cones condensed from the ground and the side walls of the houses, piercing fiercely towards the red-haired wack with his hands in his pockets.
Another Mage of The Azure Orcas Squad beside him praised his magic-wielding companion, "You bastard, just suffer defeat under the magnificent magic of Vice-Captain Zachs Lugner, known as the 'Ice Saint'!"
"Oh? Is that so?"
Sharp ice thorns pierced into the red-haired wack's skin one by one, but at this moment, he let out a wild laugh, his abnormally sharp teeth showing through the bandage mask. A gray magic circle rotated clockwise around the wack's body.
After the Ice Thorn Pierce magic was completed, the gray magic circle rotated counter-clockwise.
The ice magic was returned with increased power.
Huge ice thorns stacked up, slamming Zachs Lugner against the wall. The man in the crater was bleeding, completely unconscious. The Mage of The Azure Orcas Squad, who had been boasting about Zachs's power, trembled and cowered on the ground.
"How is that possible?"
"He defeated the Vice-Captain in one blow..."
The red-haired wack slowly walked towards the unconscious Zachs, twisting his neck. "The Ice Saint? To lose to me, this level of Vice-Captain is truly surprising!"
"The selection seems to be happening in the plaza next door... In that case, wearing a Magic Knights cape is wasted on you. Let me borrow it for a bit."
The red-haired wack tore off Zachs's The Azure Orcas cape, turned around, and put it on, just in time to see Bai En standing quietly there.
He let out a surprised sound, then familiarly walked forward, observing Bai En, "Yo~ There's another Magic Knight here? Looking at this cape, are you from the Aqua Deer Squad?"
A smile, revealing his sharp teeth, squeezed out, "What, are you going to stand up for them?"