"Mr. Kurose Akira, I've found the necromancer!"
Ivsha reported back to him, her voice quick and certain.
"Found him!?"A flicker of joy flashed through Kurose Akira's eyes. At last—the true culprit behind all of this."Where is he?"
"There." Ivsha pointed decisively.
Akira followed the direction of her finger. In the distant stands, partially concealed by the surrounding crowd, a middle-aged man in a black robe sat quietly. Using the people around him as cover, he was chanting spells without restraint, calmly manipulating the remaining five skeletal Vowbound Knights on the battlefield.
"Ivsha," Akira asked softly, "can you take care of him?"
"I can," she replied after a brief pause, "but I'll need a little time."
Ivsha nodded. Her level was far below that of the necromancer, but his true strength lay in commanding undead—not in personal combat. Some necromancers were barely stronger than ordinary people once separated from their minions.
And Ivsha, as a nun-class unit, carried innate holy attributes, making her a natural counter to necromancers.
"Then I'll leave it to you," Akira said calmly. "No need to keep him alive."
"As you wish~"Ivsha smiled faintly, then turned and immediately moved to deal with the necromancer.
"Mr. Kurose Akira… have you found him?"Natasha looked at Akira with undisguised hope.
"Yes."
"That's wonderful!" Relief washed over her face. "Once the necromancer is eliminated, the Vowbound Knight skeletons he's controlling will lose their source of mana. They'll gradually lose the ability to move."
"It won't be over just yet," Akira replied. "For now, we just need Loserine to hold on."
He lifted his gaze toward the battlefield, where Loserine was locked in fierce combat with the five skeletal Vowbound Knights.
Whether Ivsha could assassinate the necromancer—or Roxia could successfully become a Vowbound Knight—both depended on one condition:
Loserine had to withstand all five enemies.
In this commission, she carried the most critical role.
And she did not disappoint.
Her swordsmanship was nothing short of exquisite. Even while surrounded and assaulted from all sides, she showed no signs of collapse. Her movements were elegant yet lethal, her blade tracing arcs of silver light through the air.
The dazzling battle instantly drew the attention of everyone present.
Gasps and shouts echoed through the arena.
"That swordsmanship—yes! That's it! It really is Loserine!"
"My god! Loserine has returned! The strongest knight of the Yerman Family has returned!"
"She's back! They're all back!"
"Facing seven Vowbound Knights alone—even as undead—this is the true meaning of the strongest Vowbound Knight in a century!"
"So insane… Loserine will always be my idol!"
"But the situation still isn't good," someone muttered nervously. "That Vowbound Knight wielding the greatsword was once called the strongest of them all. His power isn't something to underestimate."
"One versus seven is still too much. We can only hope Roxia passes the White Rose trial quickly and eases the pressure."
The crowd buzzed with discussion, yet few truly believed Loserine could overcome seven former Vowbound Knights.
Even bearing the title of the strongest, under the relentless assault of five skeletal Vowbound Knights, she was inevitably being pushed back.
And then—
Clang!
A massive greatsword—over two meters long—crashed down like a cannonball, smashing into Loserine's Silver Moon longsword. The violent shock sent tremors through her crystalline skeletal frame.
Her stance remained firm.
But the rare-grade Silver Moon sword screamed in protest, vibrating with a sharp ringing sound, as though it were on the verge of shattering.
It could still hold—for a little while longer.
But defeating the greatsword-wielding Vowbound Knight with it alone?
That would never be enough.
As Loserine retreated, creating a brief gap between herself and the enemy, a voice rang out:
"Catch!"
A longsword gleaming with golden light flew toward her.
Loserine caught it instinctively and turned her gaze back.
Roxia had already passed the second trial.
Without hesitation, she had thrown the Sword of the Vow from her own hands.
That blade—once Loserine's own.
The moment it returned to her grasp, a familiar sensation surged from deep within her being. Even stripped of memory, she felt an indescribable warmth—an intimacy long lost, now restored.
"Watch out!"
Just as Loserine was sensing the power sealed within the Sword of the Vow, two skeletal knights lunged toward her.
Roxia's warning had barely left her lips—
Shhh!
A flash of white light cut through the air.
In an instant, both skeletal knights were torn apart by blinding platinum radiance, shattered into fragments that vanished without a trace.
"So… so strong…"Roxia stared in disbelief.
She had never imagined that the same weapon, wielded by different hands, could produce such an overwhelming difference.
One strike.
Two former Vowbound Knights—instantly annihilated.
Snapping back to her senses, Roxia turned and sprinted toward the massive white rose petals ahead.
The combat trial was complete.
Next came the trial of the heart.
Only by passing it could she truly become this generation's Vowbound Knight.
"Damn it! Puer—stop her! Now!"
Watching through the screen, Wang Qi—the opposing guild's leader—panicked.
If Roxia succeeded, the commission would fail. The special mission would need to be re-evaluated from scratch, costing him immense time and resources.
"I know! I know!"Puer gritted his teeth.
It wasn't that he didn't want to stop her.
He simply couldn't.
That white-cloaked knight who had appeared out of nowhere was absurdly strong—holding back every single undead under his control.
These weren't ordinary undead.
They were the result of his painstaking refinement. He had poured blood, time, and obsession into them.
And now… they were being blocked by some unknown interloper.
Left with no other choice, Puer activated a forbidden necromantic spell—sacrificing a portion of his own soul to temporarily empower his undead.
Pff—!
Blood spilled from his mouth as he channeled the enhancement into the jet-black skeletal knight.
All attributes temporarily increased by 50%.
The empowered knight immediately raised its greatsword and launched a ferocious assault on Loserine.
"Now you're dead for sure," Puer sneered."A necromantic spell fueled by my soul—how could it possibly fail?"
His cold gaze locked onto Loserine, anticipation twisting his expression as he waited for her destruction.
But before his words even fully faded—
The battle had already reached its end.
The black skeletal knight was faster. Stronger. More vicious.
Yet the true transformation belonged to Loserine—who now wielded the Sword of the Vow once more.
She clenched the hilt tightly, pouring her mana into the blade.
In an instant—
Radiant light erupted, as if the world itself were being illuminated.
Loserine swung.
Golden swordlight condensed into a roaring wave, cleaving forward with overwhelming force.
The speed was absolute.
The black skeletal knight had no time to react before it was engulfed.
When the light dispersed, nothing remained—
Only a pile of black ash scattered across the ground.
"T-This… this is impossible!"
Puer staggered back, eyes wide with disbelief.
He couldn't accept it.
The undead knight he had refined with his life's work—born at the cost of his own soul—
Had been one-shot.
How could that be possible!?
And just as panic consumed him—
A golden dagger silently pierced his heart.