High Above

【What happened? 】

  In Little Garden, Adalbert just stretched out his hand, trying to help the Knight of the Valley who suddenly knelt on the ground.

  But the blue light in the black-haired knight's eyes receded, he stood up and smiled weakly: "It's nothing."

   "It's just... a taste of helpless despair."

  His gaze became firm: "But it's okay, I already know a lot... This time, I will definitely do better."

【…Ugh】

  Adbert also sighed sadly. He thought Ian was blaming himself because of the people in the Avak Laboratory and the entire Avak Territory, so he also felt a little sad.

  He slightly overestimated Ian's morality.

  Ian would indeed be angry at the tragic experience of those ordinary people, and even fight, but the matter has come to this point, even if he is really sad, he will not show it so exaggeratedly.

  But Ian will not deliberately explain this misunderstanding. Adalbert is indeed a good researcher, and it is not a bad thing to gain some favorability.

   At this moment, the Dead River Armed Forces, which had been quietly on the ground, suddenly let out a low mechanical hum.

  Boom, the ferocious armor suddenly shrank, then swelled, turning into a dark cloud, in which blood and silver rays of light turned into lines and lines, forming inscriptions one after another, and then flowing towards Ian.

  Ian didn't see any danger—in fact, he had already foreseen it with the silver chip when he touched the Dead River armed forces.

  So, he just stood up and waited for all the clouds and lines to shrink, shrinking around his waist.

   turned into an inconspicuous black belt.

  【Dead River armed? ! Is miniaturization portable? 】

  Adbert opened his eyes wide, and he was very surprised: [This form... the people of Flameland didn't design this structure! 】

   "It was done by Grand Duke Thorin. He seems to know the research of Flaming Land like the back of his hand."

Ian caressed the black belt around his waist. He frowned slightly, but he still didn't say anything: "It is indeed useful. Even if it doesn't burn the soul, it can be said to be a very good basic ether weapon - I can design a special weapon based on it. Armed with my ether."

  【Dead River Armed Forces (Basic Optimization)】

  【Third Energy Level·Spiritual Entity·Authority·Edible】

[The final result created by the technology of Feiyandi's comprehensive gnosis institute and Avak Central Laboratory, the actual carrier of the river of death for all living beings, once carried the resentment of the souls of millions of people, and was recognized by the fourth energy level The strong man has corrected several bugs, omissions and weaknesses, and has been strengthened to a certain extent]

  【The soul can be used as fuel to refill, and the ‘Dead River Rebirth’ and ‘Soul Melting Power’ can be launched. Reminder: In non-emergency situations, it is extremely not recommended to use the souls of intelligent creatures as fuel or as materials for other abilities]

  【Warning: The more times you use it, the more likely the user will be assimilated by the resentment of the dead soul】

  【Contains source quality: 10595.1267 phase units】

  【…】

   This is a very good third-level ether arm.

Judging from the detailed data, its strength has even reached the fourth energy level. It is the same as the Abyss Iron Sword in Ian's hand. It is currently in a basic state because it has not been strengthened, so it only has some built-in skills. .

   But its superior basic quality is its biggest advantage. As long as it is slightly improved, more inscriptions are engraved, or its source quality psionic structure is optimized, it will be a real magic weapon.

   "Interesting, this ectoplasmic structure... It turns out that the Dead River Armor is not a biological etheric colony in the general sense, but a spiritual etheric colony that uses a material from a virtual creature, which can also be called soul armament..."

  Relying on his alchemy skills, familiarity with the Void, and the help of a little silver chip, Ian quickly understood the essence of Dead River Armed Forces.

Although the more detailed aspects need to be done slowly after returning to the imperial capital with the help of laboratory equipment, but now that I have confidence, Ian can book some auxiliary books in advance, and then study while studying, and then ask Adalbert to help with tutoring You should be able to master this knowledge in no time.

  【Are you going to use it? 】

Adbert stared at Ian's waist with a complicated face. The Dead River Armament was the vicious thing he wanted to destroy. He chased Viscount Avak all the way, and wiped out Flameland and Grand Duke Sorin in succession. The purpose of the research institute is to annihilate this kind of armed force that blasphemes the soul and life.

   But now it seems that the Glen Knight doesn't intend to do this—and as the main force in the battle against Viscount Avak, he is not qualified to ask the Glen Knight to destroy his spoils.

   Not to mention, the other party is still the disciple of the legendary first knight... If he is the successor of the first knight, then perhaps, he can still trust the morality of the knight of the valley?

  Thinking of this, Adbert couldn't help laughing.

  Does this need to be doubted?

  He saw with his own eyes the scene where the other party beheaded Viscount Avak in a row with righteous anger, but there was no need to doubt this aspect.

  So, before Ian spoke, he was relieved.

   And Ian will naturally explain: "The ability of the Dead River Armed Forces is indeed vicious, and I will not use it—but the technology contained in it can be disassembled, but it can be used in many ways."

"No matter what kind of technology development is carried out in the future, you need to accumulate a lot of technology as a 'material reserve', otherwise, sometimes you start a new project and everything needs to be developed from scratch, that feeling is really bad .”

【really! 】

  Adbert felt deeply on his face, and then he realized: [Wait, this tone... You are also a researcher, Knight of the Valley? ! 】

The dead king looked at the black-haired knight in surprise, and Ian turned his face to look at him, and couldn't help but raise the corner of his mouth: "Yes. And there is a big laboratory in the capital city... well, speaking of which, you Will you follow me?"

   "Although Grand Duke Sorin said he fired you, he actually wanted me to find you a place to stay."

【I…】

Adelbert was at a loss. He thought he would die at the hands of Viscount Avak, or be executed by Grand Duke Thorin—he had already prepared himself to die here by choosing to become the king of death, and he never thought that he would die here. can survive.

   Even, from the very beginning, Grand Duke Thorin didn't want to punish him.

   He naturally wanted to agree to the invitation of the Knight of the Glen, but Adbert was a little worried.

  Worried about his status as a dead king, he might cause trouble for the Knights of the Valley.

  —No matter how ignorant he is, he still knows that the first knight is currently on the run, and his disciple must also conceal his identity.

   But that was too far back. Today, not many people remember the first knight's arrest warrant, but if it is revealed that he still has a disciple, then countless flies will definitely rush to him.

   And myself... is the most attention-grabbing dead king in recent times.

  Going by yourself will only make the still safe situation of the Knights of the Valley more dangerous, right?

   "Don't worry too much."

  Ian naturally noticed that Adalbert's worries were afraid of affecting him. While he felt amused in his heart, he couldn't help feeling that there are so few good people in this world.

  People like Yadbert are really rare creatures.

   "If you really intend to join—I mean, join my team, then I might tell you who I really am...and offer you refuge in my domain."

After thinking about it, Ian felt that if he really wanted the other party to join him, he still had to tell some real information: "I will soon become a lord, and I also have a team outside... Well, if you are willing to pretend, I will We can arrange for the Huaiguang Rescue Team to take you out."

   "Trust me... Even if you don't believe in my morality, you have to believe that your own technical ability is worthy of attention, and it is worth my risk."

  【…Then please】

  Adbert was silent for a while, and said to Ian gratefully.

  If he could choose, he certainly didn't want to die, and he didn't want to be wanted.

   I have to say that before Ian fought Viscount Avak, there was a sentence that touched his heart very much.

   That is 'mother'.

  He became the king of the dead with a moment of enthusiasm, and naturally he would not regret this choice... But now that the matter is over, he must still hope that he can bring a better life to his mother.

  In addition, Ian's true identity also made him very curious-who is the Knight of the Glen? He could actually be a lord within the empire?

   Besides that, he even has a big laboratory in the capital?

  Oh my god, the disciple of the first knight, the disciple of the most wanted criminal in the empire... There is actually a big laboratory in the capital? !

  —The most dangerous place is the safest place, the words of the sages are true!

   The curiosity in Adalbert's heart is almost full. If it is not because the current situation is not suitable for asking these things, he must have grabbed Ian to ask for details.

   But until now...

   It is indeed time to leave.

  Ian got up and walked in front, while Adbert followed behind him.

  They walked together to the crumbling subspace labyrinth's choice entrance, preparing to leave this land soaked in hatred and mourning, blood, tears and despair.

  Although Adalbert is the master of the subspace, Ian's familiarity with the entrance and exit is almost like the real master.

   After all, the silver chip has already recorded a set of maps, and the vision horizon can also distinguish the way forward, which is not an exaggeration.

"correct."

But halfway through, Ian suddenly thought of something, he turned his head, and asked Adalbert, who was a little silent along the way: "I remember...you said that you applied for some psychic books to assist you in researching related topics, right? "

   "And Grand Duke Thorin prepared all those books for you?"

  【Ah, yes】

Adalbert raised his head. He didn't realize what Ian said at first, but soon, he nodded and looked in a direction of the subspace labyrinth: [I remember it seemed to be placed in the dean's room... These are ancient books with evil power, let them follow this maze...]

   Before Adalbert finished speaking, Ian turned his head and accelerated towards the dean's room.

  —Death with the maze?

   What a joke!

   Each of these ancient books containing 'evil power' is a treasure that cannot be copied!

   And there is a high probability that Dragon Worship entrusts himself...

   Oh, it seems like they just entrusted themselves to see where is the Book of Silver Glory? It seems that there is no need to take it back.

   But it doesn't matter, Ian himself wants to see what is so special about the power in the Book of Silver Glory.

  In short, with Adalbert's slightly depressed expression on his face, Ian quickly arrived at the dean's room.

The courtyard where the dean's room is located is raining blood sparsely. Although Ian doesn't know how it rains indoors, it is still raining blood, but this must be the feedback of the resentment of the virtual world—as one of the hosts of this nightmare laboratory On the ground, the power of the dead souls will definitely gather here.

  In the darkness, the Knight of the Valley walked straight all the way. He cut open the door of the dean's room with a sword, and his eyes directly locked on the various classics in blue, purple and green.

"Book of Silver Glory", "Sacrifice of the Burning Abyss", "Chaos Buster" and "Twilight Dark Code"... all kinds of precious books that contain special spiritual power, and the mere existence itself is extremely special, are placed on the desk of the dean's office On the shelf on the left.

  Ian stepped forward, and he packed all the books away without hesitation—he even carried a large bag that looked very light, and it was obvious that it was used to store trophies.

  【Actually, if you want to know the knowledge in these books, just ask me, I have written it down...】

  Adelbert followed behind, murmuring in a low voice. He would not stop Ian's actions, but he still hoped that these tomes that indeed contained all kinds of evil knowledge and psychic powers would not be born again.

  The Soul Melting and Resurrection of Dead River Armed Forces are powerful abilities recombined from the skills in these books, which made him really instinctively reject them.

   "Then your memory is really good."

Ian praised sincerely, but his hands kept moving, and he threw all his trophies into his pockets for preservation: "But what I need is these 'evil' powers. Whether it's research or long-term knowledge, it's all right. I'm of great use."

   "Don't worry, I'm the disciple of the most wanted man in the empire. I'm not a good person. Stealing the books of the empire is the right thing to do. Don't feel uneasy about me."

  —I'm not bothered by that!

  Adelbert wanted to complain, but he didn't say anything in the end... He felt that the character of the Knight of the Valley was probably much more active than he had imagined.

   Of course. Now that Ian is ready to reveal his identity as "Ian" to Adalbert, he will naturally not overdo the indifferent character of Mahdi, the knight of the valley.

   "Get ready to go."

After collecting all the scattered things in the dean's room, whether they were books or not, Ian hung the pocket on his waist contentedly—a few books plus some special spiritual items, just an ordinary school bag size.

  Shuangdie poked her head out of her pocket, and looked at her 'new neighbor' curiously—she felt a strange wave of psionic energy... even a wave like a fairy?

   This is not an illusion.

Because among the precious books stolen from the Great Library of the Imperial Capital by the Institute of the Intellect, there is a copy of "Joyful Paradise", which is a psychic book explaining the special characteristics of goblins. The country has issued a classics of self-introduction.

  Because it was fought directly later, everyone knew about goblins very well, so there were no more prints, and it is now an out-of-print collection.

  【Hey, this is a fairy...】

  Although he didn't ask much, Adbert became even more curious about Ian's identity—who is it, who actually has a laboratory in the imperial capital, and there are goblins following him?

  If he had read the news of the imperial capital more, or learned about alchemy publications in the recent period, he might be able to know Ian's true identity by now, and add another name to the list of "those who saw through Ian's vest".

  It's a pity that Yadebert is relatively shy on weekdays, and he has been doing closed research recently, so naturally he can't see it.

   So, that's it.

  The two dead kings, Ian and Adalbert, walked all the way to the exit of the subspace maze where there was no human voice.

   There are no phantoms, no monsters, no surviving researchers—except for Yadbert himself, everyone in the entire Avak central laboratory died, and all of them became ghosts, taken away by Grand Duke Thorin.

  As they moved, box gardens collapsed one after another, subspace fragments shattered one after another, because this silent abyss, the special environment created by the fallen void fragments, was originally based on the resentment of the souls.

  When Grand Duke Thorin took away the souls of millions of people, the entire subspace labyrinth was already on the verge of collapse, and it was barely maintained because of the existence of the two dead kings, Ian and Yadbert.

   They came to the gate.

  Buzzing... At this moment, I can already see that the junction between the real world and the subspace is like a foggy door. Looking at the real world through it, it is like looking at a dream.

   Or a nightmare.

   But now...

   "The nightmare is over."

Ian turned his head sideways, and said to the young researcher who was silently pressing his eyes, as if he wanted to cry, but there were no tears, and his whole body was trembling: "Although it's not a perfect ending, at least it's better than the worst ending." .”

"Adelbert, I know, you didn't even think about surviving in the first place, you think all this research comes from you, and you think that all the deaths of millions of people in Avak are all your fault— This is the case whether it is the dead king or the dead river."

"You've been talking to me because you've been shaken, you've been in pain, you can't bear the fear. You feel unworthy of life compared to those who died and suffered because of you. But you survived, and your conscience is condemning you."

   "But even if that's the case, so what?"

  Ian's voice was almost indifferent, but it was exactly the kind of calm that Adalbert needed: "If you die, then everything is really meaningless."

   "Don't be too scared, you can still stand in the sun, and you can still use your ingenuity to change the world. You have the qualifications."

The originally majestic and terrifying Dead King was like a child who hadn’t grown up—he was originally a boy in his early twenties, and he hadn’t experienced much cruelty in the world. Tower, concentrate on the technology you like.

  He is smart, optimistic, talented, and has a sense of justice. Even if he is not joking, he is also a good person with normal moral values.

  Such a person should have a bright future, and he was involved in the Avakland incident...It can only show that Terra and this world are rotten.

【I see…】

  Responding to Ian's words, Adbert said softly, he was a little choked up: [I just... thought of my mother... Am I worthy of my mother's teaching? Am I really who my mom wants me to be? 】

   "Your mother needs to know that you can have the achievements and determination you have now, so she won't care how many people you killed and how much responsibility you have."

  Ian shook his head and sighed: "Don't worry about your mother, she must have been taken care of by Grand Duke Sorin... Maybe it's much better than us."

   "Let's go, it's time to start the next stage of life."

  Ian and Adalbert walked out of the subspace maze. Accompanied by the crisp cracking sound, the fragments of the Void Realm completely shattered.

  The outside world has already dawned.

  In the hazy sky, two moons setting on the other side of the sky can be vaguely seen. They are staggered at the edge of the sky, one is dim and broken, and the other is bright and clear.

  Even in such a starless night, there will be dawn and the brilliance of the moon.

   "Relax, Adalbert."

   Staring at the moon, Ian took a step forward with Adalbert: "There is still a lot of suffering waiting for you in the future, and it is probably a torture that is not inferior to death."

   "You can't rest yet."