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"Lord Arthur, you're back?"
Just as Arthur unconsciously let out a long sigh of relief, a lazy young man's voice rang in his ears at just the right moment.
He looked in the direction of the voice and saw the alchemist Merlin, still wearing a clean, loose white robe and leaning on a solid wooden staff.
After seeing Arthur, Merlin gave him a meaningful look and continued speaking with great interest:
"It's been a month since I last saw you, Lord Arthur. Your vitality has become even stronger. It seems you're only one step away from advancing to the Silver Rank, right?"
Do you need a Silver-tier transcendent artifact that is compatible with your Knight Breathing Technique?
"I remember you cultivate fire-attribute aura, right? You're looking to find a silver-tier fire-attribute transcendent artifact in the Northern Territory. I happen to have some inside information."
"Mr. Merlin is certainly very attentive!"
Seeing that Merlin still had that shrewd businessman look on his face, Arthur forced a smile.
Then, he waved to the other person:
“Mr. Merlin, I have prepared the extraordinary external object for breaking through to the Silver rank, and I should not need it for the time being.”
However, once I break through to the Silver Rank, I will definitely need extraordinary external objects in the future.
"I will definitely come to you to do business then."
"As long as Lord Arthur still remembers Merlin, that's enough."
Having received Arthur's promise, Merlin nodded in agreement and turned the page.
then.
He then made way for Arthur to enter the alchemy workshop behind him, and continued:
"Your Excellency Arthur's visit today must be for the sake of Miss Lani and Miss Vivi, two girls with unfortunate fates, right?"
"Yes."
Arthur did not deny it.
"Then please come in with me. There's no reason to greet guests at the door."
After saying this, Merlin took the lead and walked into his alchemy workshop.
Arthur and the others followed closely behind.
Enter the main hall of this alchemy workshop.
I walked to the familiar guest table in the corner of the main hall.
Arthur and the others sat on one side, while Merlin sat on the other.
After sitting down, Arthur voiced his first question:
"Mr. Merlin, can you tell me where Lancelot went?"
Just now, after opening the barrier and arriving at this rift between the underworld and the mortal world.
Arthur did not see Lancelot, the young knight who was loyal to him.
Upon hearing this question, Merlin first raised his index finger and pointed to the open window at the end of the table.
Outside the window, a deep blue lake lies serenely, like a mirror.
Then Merlin spoke:
"The young knight's trial of 'Apocalypse' was prematurely initiated by the lake fairy Vivian, and he is now beneath this lake that connects to the underworld."
Judging from the events of the past few days, he should be advancing to the Silver rank soon.
What is "Apocalypse"?
When Arthur first heard this ambiguous word, he frowned and asked in confusion.
However, the next moment.
His mind involuntarily drifted back to his conversation with Lord Tristan of the Windpull earlier that day regarding the path to becoming a knight of extraordinary power:
"Your Excellency Arthur, I'm sorry."
I can't tell you too much right now.
All I can tell you is that the knight's path to transcendence is not simply a journey of physical and spiritual exploration.
"When you advance to the Gold Rank, you'll perhaps understand what I mean."
Then, I recalled what Tristan said to Gawain at the end:
"Of course, I think Lord Arthur is fortunate to have a knight with such great potential as you."
In the future, you probably won't even need to advance to the Gold rank of Knight to understand what I mean now.
Immediately, Arthur's mind was in turmoil:
Lancelot, Gawain, and the Wind Lord Tristan are all awakened knights, possessing a sublimated knight's breathing technique of superior quality, and blessed with high-level divine protection.
Their physique is similar to that of the legendary Aura Warrior who created the Knight Breathing Technique and led humanity from decline to prosperity; they are born with Aura abilities.
Therefore, when they advance to higher levels of knighthood, they will certainly be able to glimpse the extraordinary nature of this extraordinary profession of knighthood in advance, compared to ordinary knights.
As Arthur calmly considered the matter and realized this, Merlin's languid voice rang in his ears once again.
Next, the alchemist's words confirmed his guess:
"Apocalypse," as the name suggests, is a divine decree.
Speaking of the extraordinary profession of knight, in the history of us alchemists, long, long ago they were not called knights, but heroes.
The first hero to obtain the power of the Aura, and also the first knight to receive "Apocalypse".
Legend has it that the hero's "divine revelation" is "to make humanity rise."
He once led humanity to break free from the enslavement of other races, and "Apocalypse" granted him the power of waveguides to resist them.
He once fought for the survival of humankind, and "Apocalypse" granted him the power to protect all living beings.
He once drove the sea creatures that attempted to engulf the continent back to the bottom of the abyss, and "Apocalypse" then bestowed upon him an unparalleled artifact to suppress the sea creatures.
Of course, these are all ancient legends and stories, too distant from the present day to be verified.
Merlin paused here, a meaningful smile playing on his lips, before continuing:
"But from this legend, we can also learn that 'Apocalypse' is the way for knights to obtain extraordinary power."
Generally speaking, knights only have a chance to awaken "Apocalypse" after advancing to the Gold rank.
At that time, propelled by the torrent of destiny, the knight, having completed "Apocalypse," will comprehend the immense power of the Life Wave.
After hearing this, Arthur fell into deep thought.
He didn't expect that the doubts he had about the path to becoming a knight, which he had just had with Lord Tristan of Windpu, would soon be answered casually by the alchemist Merlin.
All of this seemed like a dream to Arthur.
However, he also fully understood why the butler Leon and Lord Tristan of Windpu had not told him about the existence of the "Apocalypse" on the Golden Path of Knights.
At this moment, Merlin's interpretation of "Apocalypse" cleared up his confusion, but it was only a clarification.
Because, in his mind, the concept of "revelation" was like a vague and ethereal castle in the air.
He is currently only a late-stage Iron rank knight, and hasn't even fully taken the step of resonating with the Life Seed and the "Soul Origin" yet, so how can he talk about the existence of the "Apocalypse" on the golden path of knights?
Therefore, knowing about "Apocalypse" is, for him now, nothing more than an unnecessary burden.
So, let's return to reality.
Arthur shifted the focus of the discussion back to Lancelot, whom he had originally been concerned about:
"Was he able to undergo the 'Apocalypse' trial ahead of time because he was protected by a high-level deity?"
"That's right!"
Merlin nodded in agreement.
At the same time, he looked at Gawain, who had remained silent beside Arthur, and said something surprising:
"In a sense, Lord Gawain has already undergone his own unique 'Apocalypse' trial."
Arthur raised an eyebrow, recalling an important piece of information he had unexpectedly obtained from Lord Tristan of the Windpull.
Then, he narrowed his eyes slightly and said:
"You mean, from the moment his Lv.4 'Blessing of the Sun' attracted the 'Sword of the Sun King,' which had lost its sword spirit, his 'Apocalypse' trial began ahead of schedule?"
Upon hearing this, Merlin's languid face showed a hint of surprise, but he quickly regained his composure:
"Oh, Lord Arthur, you learned this from that fellow Tristan, didn't you?"
Why did you hide this from Gawain in the first place?
Arthur neither confirmed nor denied, but continued to lower his voice and press on:
"Could you tell me and Gawain why you would call a legendary holy sword a fake?"
"Lord Arthur!?"
Gawain, who was standing to the side, could clearly sense the undisguised anger in Arthur's tone, and he couldn't help but call out Arthur's name.
He could understand that Arthur was concerned for his safety.
A transaction that deliberately conceals its truth often implies a setup.
Merlin seemed to realize that his behavior was inappropriate, and he paused for a rare moment before responding:
"I apologize, Lord Gawain. It was indeed my fault for not informing you of the abnormal situation of the Holy Sword 'Sword of the Sun King'."
When I obtained this "Sword of the Sun King", it had already lost its most crucial sword spirit.
This resulted in the loss of almost all of its legendary characteristics, a drop in quality, and no difference from ordinary meteorite-level weapons.
My deal with Lord Gawain was indeed based on the fact that his Lv.4 "Blessing of the Sun" could resonate with "Sword of the Sun King".
But believe me, the resonance he shared with this legendary sword was not something I intentionally designed.
More accurately, this was Gawain's unique, destined "divine revelation."
Upon hearing this, Arthur's expression gradually returned to calm, and he replied:
"Judging from what you said earlier, Gawain has not yet fully accepted the trial of 'Apocalypse'."
is that so? "
Merlin nodded and replied earnestly:
"Gawain, like Lord Lancelot, is blessed by a high-level god and is destined for the 'Apocalypse' to arrive ahead of schedule."
But I think the exact point of this advance will be after they advance to the Silver rank.
Regarding this, I might as well tell Lord Arthur that it was deduced from that Lord Tristan of the Windpufferlands.”
Arthur was not surprised when he heard this.
He knew better than Merlin that Tristan, like Gawain and Lancelot, was an awakened knight.
To be precise, Tristan is their senior, having already reached the late Silver rank and likely having been exposed to the unique "Apocalypse" trial for quite some time.
Thinking of this, Arthur couldn't help but recall the question he had asked Tristan, the Lord of Windpud, when they first met:
"Arthur, do you want to be a solitary dragon or a majestic lion?"
The so-called "lone dragon" and "authoritative lion" should now be closely related to the "revelation" that Tristan, the Lord of Windpull, came into contact with.
His recently deceased father, Richard Field, was once the true pride of the Grey royal family and the youngest Gold Rank Knight.
Even after his death, when he became a ghost, he still murmured words that were mostly related to his "divine revelation".
Thinking this through, Arthur couldn't help but wonder:
So, what changes will occur if the "Apocalypse," which is supposed to be the trial of the Knight's Golden Path, arrives ahead of schedule?
He voiced his doubts:
"After Gawain and Lancelot advanced to the Silver rank, they began the 'Apocalypse' trial. Is there a difference between the 'Apocalypse' of the Golden Path and the former?"
"I don't know about this."
This time, Merlin shook his head, his tone revealing helplessness:
"After all, I am not a knight, and I only have an outsider's understanding of the 'Apocalypse' of the Knight's Golden Path Trial."