Thinking of this, Ed suddenly asked:
When was Duke Frostblade's territory attacked? How long after you set out did it occur?
Xilǐ'er answered without hesitation:
"I set off on July 14th, 635th year of the royal calendar, heading west in search of aid. A period of time has passed since I set out..."
His words suddenly trailed off, and his right hand, covered in metal armor, patted his head in confusion.
Ed was also extremely surprised at this moment:
Royal Calendar 635? It's already Royal Calendar 908. The duke he mentioned must have died long ago, leaving not even ashes... He really is a knight living in the past.
The knight remembered the day he set off, but he didn't know how long he had been gone.
Why is that?
Xilǐ'er's various behaviors kept colliding in Ed's mind, finally leading him to a seemingly reasonable explanation—
What if Xilǐ'er's resurrection came at the cost of his memories?
Like games that allow saving, Xilǐ'er's ability might be to anchor himself to a specific state at a particular point in time, and then, when he suffers a fatal injury, forcibly return to that state regardless of external laws.
However, Xilǐ'er is more like the protagonist in the game than the manipulator outside of it, so the price, or rather the side effect of resurrection, is the erasure of all memories after that point in time...
If that's the case, then everything we know so far makes sense.
Although this knight is powerful, he has not yet reached the Middle Tier in essence. On this land eroded by the Demonic Tide, there are many powerful individuals who could kill him with a single hand.
However, each time he died, he would revert to his previous state and continue his westward journey, which continues to this day.
Because he had no relevant memories, Xilǐ'er was unaware of the emergence of the Demonic Tide. He did not understand why Gray had been transformed into a cyborg and why he was hostile to all humans whose bodies had become Aberration.
Now everything makes sense, except... the mark of the Eternal Domain.
Just as Ed was lost in thought, a girl's voice suddenly came:
"I smell a familiar scent. What have you gotten yourself into this time?"
Ed turned his gaze and saw Seraphina peeking out from the castle entrance.
The girl sniffed and swaggered in. Ed, seeing the dragon horns on her head, felt a sense of foreboding. He immediately shouted into the local network:
"Please leave for a moment."
But it was too late. The silver-armored knight Xilǐ'er had already turned around and seen the dragon girl Seraphina, who possessed non-human characteristics.
"Monster!"
His voice suddenly turned icy, and he turned to look at Ed, his sharp gaze sweeping over this traitor to humanity:
They all deserve to die!
In less than a second, Xilǐ'er's figure had disappeared from the spot.
When the gleaming silver armor reappeared, the silver spear had been swung in an arc, with lightning seemingly coiled around its shaft, and a suffocating killing intent filled the castle's hall.
It's a pity that Xilǐ'er chose the wrong target to attack.
If he chooses Ed as his target, at least the two sides could exchange blows.
Unfortunately, the target of this powerful attack was Seraphina, a goal he was destined to be unable to defeat.
"Bite!"
A crisp clanging sound rang out, and Seraphina used her left index and middle fingers together to catch the blade of the silver spear at her neck.
"What?"
A low shout came from beneath Xilǐ'er's visor, while Seraphina's eyes grew even more golden, and the dragon horns on her head began to burn even brighter.
"Clatter~"
A drop of liquid fell onto the ground of the castle; it was the molten metal spear.
Ed watched as the expensive carpet left by Baron Tuer was burned to shreds, and the lance was heating up from the blade, the glowing part extending towards the knight's hand.
At this rate, the knight would be melted into a puddle of molten iron in less than twenty seconds, but Seraphina's patience had reached its limit.
Looking at the knight who clung to his spear, she opened her mouth with a contemptuous expression and unleashed a breath of dragon fire that could incinerate everything.
As the flames subsided, the metal spear fell to the ground with a thud. Xilǐ'er's headless body knelt limply on the ground, then fell forward and slammed to the ground.
Seraphina turned her head and saw Ed running towards her with a helpless look on his face:
"I was even thinking of trying to win him over..."
The dragon girl shook her head:
"He gives off a strange vibe; he must be hiding a big secret."
Ed, feeling the lingering warmth around him, removed his hood.
"I figured it out too, so now that you've killed the person, the secret is gone too."
Seraphina looked at the armor on the ground:
"He attacked first, and... are you sure it's a human?"
Ed looked at the headless armor on the ground. The armor was empty, with no trace of any life that had ever existed in it.
Ed had already witnessed this scene with Gray, but seeing it with his own eyes still left him feeling somewhat frightened.
What exactly is a knight? A ghost? A weapon spirit? Or some life form that I cannot understand?
Lost in thought, Ed suddenly remembered what Seraphina had said when she first entered the castle, and he asked the dragon girl beside him:
"You said you smelled a familiar scent before, what was it?"
Seraphina's eyes darted around:
"I can't quite remember, give me a little time."
As she spoke, she bent down and began to breathe rapidly around Xilǐ'er's body.
A few seconds later, she looked up at Ed and said thoughtfully:
"It smells like amber."
After a few seconds of silence, the man and the dragon spoke simultaneously:
"It's Amber Dragon!"
"He's Figure Expert!"
What is that?
"Um, consider this the nickname I gave Amber Dragon."
Ed looked at the armor on the ground with a sudden realization:
"So, this is an Amber Dragon collectible?"
Seraphina shook her head:
"Impossible, it's not that simple."
" The Amber Dragon I mentioned to you before do enjoy collecting, but... they don't like their collections moving around."
"And..."
Seraphina looked at the armor that was beginning to fade into the void.
The molten metal droplets that fell to the ground gradually reformed into gun blades, which were hit head-on by the dragon's breath. The helmet, which was rapidly sublimating due to the high temperature, also gradually appeared in the air. Even the horse below the castle became illusory, stepping on non-existent steps and approaching the castle step by step.
Seraphina's beautiful brows furrowed slightly:
"Illusion and resurrection are not Amber Dragon's Authority."
"What kind of creature has similar abilities?"
Ed never misses an opportunity to take advantage of loopholes.
Seraphina looked helpless:
"There are many more. Before the Demonic Tide, High Tier human mages, Nature Elf, Space Dragon, blood demons, and liches could all do similar things."