Chapter 302: "Silver Sword"
After returning from the abattoir, Bai Yan felt a subtle difference.
Although it wasn't a particularly significant breakthrough, he realized that he had indeed become stronger.
The increase in power in the true sense was quite evident.
At his level, he could clearly perceive the changes in his soul, and a bit more of his soul's essence was uncovered.
"It's strange, it doesn't conform to the 'norm' like before."
In the past, every time Bai Yan made a major breakthrough, he would directly reach the pinnacle of that level, rarely experiencing significant strength improvement before breaking through again.
For example, after reaching the awakening stage, he could directly utilize all the power of the awakening level, and after reaching the Crown stage, he could also directly utilize all the power of the Crown level.
"Why did I suddenly become stronger?"
He shook his head lightly, choosing not to dwell on it further.
The reason is actually quite simple.
There are too many peculiarities about himself!
A slight increase in strength is normal compared to the various extraordinary experiences he has had, so it's not that big of a deal.
"Did people from the Divine Blade really come to investigate?"
In the room, Bai Yan sitting in a chair, showed a faint smile, having already prepared for this matter.
A team of knights had just entered outside the door, but Bai Yan had already activated his super sensing, discerning their specific situation.
Among this team of riders, actually only the first two are knights of the Divine Blade.
Well, after all, there are only dozens of Knights of the Divine Blade, it is rare for them to act together as a large troop.
After all, every Knight of the Divine Blade is a Crown level power, equivalent to the high-ranking priests of the Church, and if they are sent to the local area, they will all be formidable figures.
The remaining knights who follow these two Knights of the Divine Blade are all subordinates of the Divine Blade, belonging to the "Knights of the Divine Blade" in a lower rank.
Simply put, they are cannon fodder and foot soldiers.
But even an ordinary knight is considered a high-ranking figure among foot soldiers, with higher wages, benefits, and expenditure levels than even the Night Watcher.
By the way, the bottom line for knights is also to "reach Transcendence."
The Knights of the Divine Blade system is the core system of the Kingdom of Dark Light's armed forces, originally intended for the upper class to use various disciplines and honors to recruit and utilize the Transcendent class.
In some European countries in Bai Yan's homeland, the knight class has been completely replaced due to the emergence of professional feudal standing armies.
However, this path is completely inaccessible in Noah.
The reason is simple.
How can steel and gunpowder compare to the well-trained Transcendent bodies?
A Crown level Transcendent is already an existence that ordinary people cannot contend with.
Not to mention the varied and mysterious powers of the Transcendents. In theory, as long as the military literacy of the Transcendent forces is sufficient, they can employ various transcendent powers to play tactics to the fullest.
In Bai Yan's homeland, the records of "one against ten thousand" can only be found in fiction, but in this world, it is a historical fact!
In the world of Noah, the path of becoming strong through one's own abilities is the true way of the elites.
Under normal circumstances, it is so.
The sound of rain continued as he slowly got up from the bedroom and walked into the spacious, dark-toned main living room.
The silver-haired tall female knight was already sitting on the light yellow sofa, her deputy was a man squinting his eyes, standing on the side, the two of them had been waiting for a while.
The other lower-ranking knights sat outside, as their rank was insufficient to enter the main living room.
The servants quickly brought warm food and tea, handing over clean towels.
The tall female knight took the towel and untied her silver hair tied into a ponytail in front of Bai Yan , using the towel to wipe her hair, face, and fair shoulders.
Then, she complained with an expression of calm and an unpleasant tone of voice, "This is unreasonable, the highest level armor doesn't have any rain protection feature."
"I know that ordinary people don't have the qualifications to modify 'God's gift,' but adding a low-level spell to this armor should be simple for the great Savior, right?"
The next words from Christine were truly astonishing, leaving the nearby servants and Bai Yan dumbfounded.
"Couldn't His Highness use his brain a little?"
Bai Yan was stunned; this person had such audacity.
Her assistant was a narrow-eyed, smiling, and weak-looking man named Thon .
Thon immediately stood up and somewhat helplessly reminded, "Ah, ah, please, Chief, let's not say anymore. We are still in the middle of work, and the owner of the estate has already arrived."
"Sorry, I forgot. Apparently, we are not here to drink, but to work."
The tall and silvery-haired female knight stood up and looked at "Viscount Edmond." There was no trace of a smile in her icy blue eyes, only a cold and profound gaze.
"Ah, you must be the owner of the Tulip Manor, Mr. Viscount Edmond. Hello."
Christine sighed and said, "I am Christine. As you can see, I am a busy Knight of the Divine Blade who, despite my age, has yet to marry."
Bai Yan could clearly sense the resentment emanating from her, which reminded him of some laborers from his past life.
"Hello."
"I am Edmond, the owner of the Tulip Manor. Welcome to the arrival of the Knight of the Divine Blade."
Bai Yan behaved politely and had heard a bit about Christine.
"Silver Sword."
She is twenty-five years old this year, and eighteen years ago, when she was only seven, she had already reached the level of Crown.
Her innate power is "Sword Edge."
Christine is very strong, on the verge of reaching Apocalypse, always regarded as the genius among geniuses, possibly the earliest person known to have reached Crown in the past century.
You see, this woman didn't have the help of "Babel Tower" and yet managed to become so strong purely on her own.
Everyone believes that it is only a matter of time before she reaches Apocalypse.
Christine's teacher is the captain of the Knights of the Divine Blade, the "Divinely Created Monster" Chris , and their relationship is very good.
There are even rumors that this woman is actually the illegitimate daughter of Captain Chris .
That's all Bai Yan knows about her.
Limited knowledge ends here.
Although this woman's talent is extremely outstanding, and she has already touched the threshold of Apocalypse with her own power, Bai Yan is well aware that she is not a Core Operator of Babel Tower.
At least, not in the first playthrough.
He remembered again that after the Doomsday Crisis, he drew from the "Fate" pool and obtained two names, "Gray Child" and "White Night Devil," which were completely absent in the first playthrough.
They seemed to be new Core Operators exclusive to the second playthrough.
Speaking of which, "Mysterious Magic" Alan can also be considered a Core Operator exclusive to the second playthrough.
Now, even Bai Yan himself is not sure about the Core Operators in the second playthrough of "Babel Tower."
After dissecting the underlying data of Babel Tower through the Real Digital World, he was unable to analyze this part of the content due to his insufficient abilities.
"Viscount, I have a sense that you are quite interested in me," the female knight staring at Bai Yan suddenly spoke.
In fact, Bai Yan's mental activity is very brief, lasting only about half a second.
However, it was still captured.
Bai Yan smiled slightly and calmly replied, "Because you are so beautiful, like a gift from the Savior to the mortal world. It's only natural for someone like me to can't help but take a second glance."
In fact, Christine is indeed beautiful, but there is still a gap compared to Mu Ling and the Scarlet Moon .
Christine turned her head towards her assistant and smiled earnestly, "Viscount Edmond is really good at telling the truth."
"Just polite words." Assistant Thon scratched his head.
The female knight turned her head back and ignored him. They all sat back down, and she asked, "So, Lord Viscount, have you seen any sinners today?"
Christine took out something that looked like a black music box and gently placed it on the table.
It was a magical tool that had the ability to detect lies.
Once, Alan had also used a similar item to test Bai Yan's situation.
"Yes, I have." Bai Yan nodded lightly, not lying.
"Oh?" Christine's eyes lit up, and she immediately asked the next question.
"Where was it?" Bai Yan smiled and answered not very seriously, "In a dream."
Christine paused for a moment and realized that the lie-detecting magical tool had no reaction, hmm, this man was not lying.
She never expected that this man in front of her had just "taken a nap" ten minutes ago.
Furthermore, he even used the power of his mind to suggest and create a "customized dream" for himself.
In that dream, he did see many sinners.
Bai Yan's expression was calm, his gaze was serene, and he indeed did not lie.
"Hmm, then let me ask again, were you involved in the 'abattoir sinner escape'?" Christine was not satisfied with that and switched to a more straightforward approach and continued asking.
"Are you doubting me?"
"I apologize, I am not doubting you." Christine smiled and said bluntly, "I doubt everyone."
Bai Yan furrowed his eyebrows slightly and shook his head, "I have been in the Tulip Manor all day today. Countless guests have seen me here, hosting the banquet. There are hundreds of people who can testify."
Christine looked at the lie-detecting magical tool again, and it still had no response.
But she still persisted, with a cold and indifferent gaze.
"Please answer my question directly."
The rank of Knight of the Divine Blade was very high, much higher than that of ordinary secular nobles. As one of its outstanding members, Christine naturally didn't need to give too much respect to "Edmond".
In fact, doing this kind of work meant offending people.
Assistant Thon smiled and said, "You should just answer directly. Our boss has always been this straightforward...so she can never get married."
Suddenly, Christine turned her head and stared at her assistant for ten seconds, and the latter trembled and lowered his head.
Bai Yan remained silent for a while before saying, "I had absolutely no involvement in this matter."
"I'm sorry, I might have been a bit aggressive just now." Christine nodded upon hearing the direct answer, finally stopping her probing and smiling.
Then, she quickly finished all the snacks and tea handed to her by the servant, got up, and was about to leave.
"To be honest, I really wished you were the culprit. It would have been easier to just take you back. It's a pity though, now we have to work overtime... sigh."
Bai Yan had no idea how to respond to these words, but he finally understood why Christine couldn't find a suitor.
In the Kingdom of Dark Light, most women would get married before the age of twenty, especially those with extraordinary abilities who might marry even earlier. "Early marriage and having more children" was a necessary strategy for every family to maintain their heritage.
She wiped off the crumbs from the corner of her mouth cheerfully and smiled, "Thank you for your cooperation. We'll continue searching elsewhere... The snacks were delicious, we'll visit again if we have the chance."
"Yes, you're welcome anytime." Bai Yan also stood up and nodded gently.
"Let's go, let's go, we'll continue working overtime on the investigation."
After she finished speaking, she patted her assistant's shoulder and left the living room with a smile.
The pats were heavy and made a loud sound. Thon winced in pain.
Of course, Bai Yan had to see them off completely, accompanying them all the way outside the Tulip Manor, before considering it done.
A group of riders continued on their way in the rain, gradually moving further away.
While on the horse, Christine pondered and suddenly spoke, "Although he wasn't involved in this matter, I can sense that this Viscount Tulip is definitely not an ordinary person."
"Very interesting."
Assistant Thon puzzledly asked, "Should we go back and ask again then?"
Christine smiled and shook her head, "Let's forget about it for today. As for the future, he might suddenly be discovered to have committed some major crime... hehe."
"Then, I'll personally witness the moment he gets destroyed by divine laws."
"Meow!"
Bai Yan sat calmly in the study, seeing the cat named "Cola" meowing at him from the bookshelf.
Within his black pupils, there was a deep and meaningful smile.
"This cat is indeed quite peculiar."
Bai Yan didn't know what happened, but recently, the maid who took care of the cat seemed to have been trained by it and became obedient.
He always felt like he had seen it somewhere before.
"The knights of Divine Blade... It would be great if I could recruit their leader into Babel Tower if I have the chance," Bai Yan said in his dream.
Just now, Bai Yan used a trick to deceive Christine.
First, the incarnation, Power Possession "Mysterious Magic" created a regular music box at another location, which looked exactly like the lie-detecting device.
Then, Power Possession "Nightsaber" manipulated time, swapping the two items during the answer, and finally, switched them back.
It's such a simple method, yet highly effective.
If the other party continues to investigate further... he is confident that he won't reveal anything.
"You go out for a moment."
Bai Yan snapped his fingers, confusing "Kale" and making it sway as it jumped off the bookshelf and left the study.
Then, he took out his phone and opened the game "Babel Tower."
Bai Yan chose and sent out "Sword of Demons" to carry out his first weekly mission.
Its mission location is Annottales.
Lately, there has been a significant number of cultists from Dead Silence in Annottales.
And the target of "Sword of Demons" in the weekly mission is precisely these cultists.
Bai Yan still had a deep impression of Dead Silence. In the Noah world, this illegal organization, which worships the "Peaceful Songstress," is the largest in terms of membership, with over a million followers.
They yearned for tranquility.
Dead Silence believes that what people pursue is not happiness.
The so-called happiness is merely a momentary enjoyment to offset the unease and anticipation.
Therefore, what humans and all sentient beings truly need to pursue is...
Eternal tranquility.
