I want to just drift through life in Type-Moon.

Page 44

"Watch out, I'm coming!" Not wanting to give him any chance to delay, Arthur, who had completely seen through his true nature, slashed at him forcefully. Of course, this was a test.

Le Zhengling's eye twitched, and he calmly dodged the blow by turning to the side, then said defiantly, "You just wait..."

"Not bad, let's do it again!" Arthur pretended not to hear, pulled and spun his right hand, and delivered a horizontal slash, this time faster than the previous one.

Knowing that saying anything would be useless, Yue Zhengling had no choice but to give up. She thought she would just socialize with Arthur a little, and then pretend to be injured at the right time to stop this meaningless post-dinner exercise.

With each swing, Arthur grew increasingly surprised. He hadn't expected Yue Zhengling to be so good at dodging, even though he hadn't been attacking seriously and had only used simple, straightforward slashing techniques.

He has now swung his sword more than a hundred times, but he has not been able to hit Yue Zhengling even once. This is even though he is constantly increasing the speed of his sword swings. Gradually, he also began to take it a little more seriously. Instead of increasing the speed of his slashes, he added thrusts and parries to his sword moves.

Despite this, Arthur watched as Yue Zhengling dodged his now much more complicated attacks one after another as if nothing had happened, and he couldn't help but admire him. But at the same time, he was also puzzled, because the long sword he had given to Yue Zhengling had not been swung even once, as if it did not exist and was just placed in Yue Zhengling's hand.

Finally, while continuing his attacks, Arthur asked, "Why don't you fight back?"

Le Zheng had already dodged Arthur's upward slash by testing his upper body, but he was caught off guard by Arthur's question and almost couldn't dodge the following diagonal slash.

After fighting for so long, the two had barely moved their feet, constantly shifting within a very limited range. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Yue Zhengling tapped his right foot and leaped back three body lengths, jumping out of Arthur's longsword's range.

Arthur did not pursue him, but stood there with his sword, waiting for his explanation.

"..." Yue Zhengling glanced at the object in his hand before answering Arthur in an unusually serious tone, "Because, I've never learned swordsmanship..."

Hearing this answer, Arthur raised an eyebrow with amusement. "Are you lying? The way you hold the sword, the way your body leans towards the sword-wielding hand, and the several times you tighten your forearm all tell me that you almost swung the sword. All things considered, your swordsmanship is actually quite superb."

Le Zhengling's expression became subtle. His gaze unconsciously looked up, and then he replied in an innocent tone, "No, I really haven't learned swordsmanship. The things you just said were probably because I was often tortured by an unreliable magician, and I unconsciously remembered his movements."

"A magician?" Arthur asked in surprise.

“Yes, a Grand Magician candidate known as the Sword Saint of Avalon.” Yue Zhengling’s tone was full of sighs. Seeing Arthur’s interested expression, he rolled his eyes and pointed to an indoor bar next door. “Let’s go in and rest for a while. I’ll tell you all about it.”

Arthur saw through his desire to escape, but because he was genuinely interested, he went along with it and put down his sword to signal the end of their half-hour-long post-dinner exercise.

Seeing his actions, Yue Zhengling breathed a sigh of relief, praising his own cleverness in his heart, and happily tossed the sword in his hand aside.

Arthur frowned at his actions, then relaxed. For Arthur, the sword in his hand was like an important partner. If it were in the past, Yue Zhengling's casual attitude would have been severely punished.

However, considering that Yue Zhengling was still a child, not his subordinate, and lacked the awareness of a warrior, he didn't say much. But because of his actions and the reasons mentioned above, Arthur put the ideological guidance of Yue Zhengling on the agenda.

Most importantly, Arthur has completely figured out Yue Zhengling's behavior patterns and the meaning hidden in her little actions.

It can be said that Yue Zhengling is the kind of person who has absolutely no ambition—or rather, someone who lives in his own world for some reason. If you don't break down that invisible wall in his heart, no matter how hard outsiders try to get close to him, there will only be two outcomes.

Either they completely give up on Yue Zhengling and stop trying to get close to him.

Either they develop a dislike for Yue Zhengling and ultimately try to make everyone hate him.

Chapter 110 Drunkenness

Unaware that her future had been meticulously planned, Yue Zhengling was now extremely pleased with herself for escaping a calamity.

Upon entering this elegantly decorated bar, Le Zhengling found the surrounding decor quite interesting. It wasn't the kind of café that deliberately emphasized a retro atmosphere, but rather one that the owner had decorated according to his own preferences.

The evidence is that although the store is so big, there are very few spaces. Most of the space is occupied by potted plants and cabinets without doors. Also, for some reason, there are a lot of decorations on the ceiling, and if you look closely, it looks like a small planetarium.

Aside from the fact that it was a bit dusty, everything here pleased Yue Zhengling.

After Arthur walked in, he looked around and said that apart from the dust, he liked the place very much.

Then, Arthur recited a short incantation, stomped his foot, and a slight whirlwind swept through the entire cafe. The dust was all swept up by this wind, which gradually became visible to the naked eye and darkened in color, and finally flew out the door.

This was the second time Yue Zhengling had seen Arthur use this skill. He had done the same thing when Yue Zhengling was cleaning the lounge. At the time, Yue Zhengling asked what kind of ability it was, and Arthur replied with an embarrassed smile that it was a little trick of the Wind King's barrier.

You actually used the Wind King's Barrier, which was meant to hide the Holy Sword, to clean the house? You're a genius! No wonder you're the Moon Boyfriend with such excellent housekeeping skills, just like Archer!

Of course, this complaint can only be kept to himself. Now that he can control his mouth, Le Zhengling is still very rational.

As Yue Zhengling sat behind the bar, she was about to start a conversation when Arthur walked behind the bar, snapped his fingers, and then asked in a pretentious manner, "Sir, would you like something to drink?"

Le Zhengling was startled by his actions, then laughed, thinking that she was right after all; he and Arthur were just as fun.

In this apocalyptic world, it's not easy to find someone you can talk to. Neither of them wanted to strain their relationship. Arthur knew that his forceful dragging him to spar had upset him, so he wanted to mend things now.

"A glass of the bar's signature milk, please!" Yue Zhengling nodded to him seriously.

Arthur was also taken aback by his answer, and his serious expression broke into laughter. He was naturally a bit of a joker, so the little unpleasantness between the two was thus resolved.

Le Zhengling isn't the type to hold grudges. Although he likes to tease you in the little things in life, he's actually quite harmless unless it involves life or death.

"Don't you really want to drink something? After all, the selection of wines here seems quite complete, and I'm not worried about them expiring." Arthur picked up a few bottles of wine and looked at them, completely unaware of Yue Zhengling's somewhat amused and exasperated expression.

"Hey, why do you look more like someone living in the 21st century than me?"

Arthur took out several bottles and cocktail shakers, without even using an ounce glass, and poured in vodka, Cointreau, lemon juice, and cranberry juice in that order to make a short drink with plenty of juice and no ice, and placed it in front of Yue Zhengling.

Although he didn't like drinking, he still took a sip of the brightly colored drink, which looked more like fruit juice than a cocktail. The ample sweetness, sourness, and fruity aroma, with only vodka as the alcohol, gave it a refreshing taste that made Yue Zhengling give Arthur a thumbs up.

Arthur smiled slightly, but instead of mixing himself a drink, he took out a glass of absinthe and poured himself a sip.

"Now can you tell me who you imitated with your swordsmanship?" After finishing his wine, Arthur gently put down his goblet, looking quite interested.

“It’s the Sword Saint of Avalon.” Yue Zhengling rolled her eyes. “I’ve made it so clear, can’t you guess who it is?”

Arthur tapped the rim of the glass with his finger, making a crisp sound. "Although I had some suspicions, it still feels a bit unbelievable..."

“What’s so unbelievable? Compared to yours, mine are all pretty shady—no, wait, there are plenty of shady characters on your side too.”

Whether it was because of the alcohol or not, Yue Zhengling seemed a little tipsy, or perhaps he simply wanted to say something to Arthur.

“The three Grand Magicians I know aren’t exactly respectable people. Let’s start with Uruk Axe King.” Yue Zhengling rested his chin on the bar table as he looked at Arthur.

"Unlike the Hero King you know, this one, whose class is Magician, is the Supreme Wise King who has returned from his journey to immortality. Despite being a Magician, he pretends to look at a clay tablet when chanting spells. His real killing move is the big axe in his hand."

"Muttering incantations to himself, his eyes seemingly fixed on the stone slab, but actually sniping at the enemy's reaction out of the corner of his eye. Halfway through his incantation, he suddenly charged forward and started hacking at people with an axe! What a shameless tactic!"

Arthur listened with great interest as Yue Zheng spoke, while simultaneously mixing him a different kind of fruit wine.

"Also, I have to say you're a real failure. As a Holy Sword Wielder, you were actually suppressed in swordsmanship by that Hero King you know. If he hadn't gone crazy and used the End Sword Enki to summon a great flood, you wouldn't have been able to break free of the Thirteen Bindings and turn the tide!"

When Arthur heard Yue Zhengling mention that time, a look of reminiscence flashed in his eyes. "You really do know everything."

"I don't know everything, I just know what I know." He took a small sip of the cocktail handed to him.

"The second one is the Israeli boxing king, that's right, King Solomon from the Bible. He used the ten rings given to him by God as brass knuckles, which is really something else. He forgets his lines when he gets nervous, and usually uses the ten rings to cheat. At his core, he's a useless shut-in. He even needed his father to push him into marriage. He finally got a chance to be reborn, but he still messed things up. That's really something else."

At this point, Arthur could detect the complex emotions in Yue Zhengling's tone, "You know that Magic King?"

"No, I don't know him. Who would want to know that kind of slacker who made countless people cry?" Filled with resentment and disappointment, Yue Zhengling downed her drink in one gulp.

Seeing this, Arthur prepared a third drink for him. This time, he used the technique of shaking the glass, because he had just used magic to create some ice.

"The last one is the Sword Saint of Avalon! That damn white-haired online scammer! He was being chased by a woman and sought refuge in Avalon. He chanted incantations, bit his tongue, drew his sword, and went to her anus. He was always spying on people and also committed online fraud!"

When Merlin was mentioned, Yue Zhengling couldn't help but slam his fist on the table and glared at Arthur with a resentful look.

"Your voices are almost identical, and every time I talk to you, I can't help but think of that guy! It's really too much!"

Chapter 111 The False Starry Sky

Arthur responded to Yue Zhengling's accusations with a wry smile, after all, he couldn't control things like similar voices.

"So, your swordsmanship was taught to you by Merlin, right?" Hearing Yue Zhengling say that the Merlin he knew was better at swordsmanship than magic, Arthur didn't show any surprise, but he was actually very curious about this Merlin.

“Teach? Not really… After all, now that I think about it, Merlin only taught me some fragmented magical knowledge. He didn’t even have time to teach me swordsmanship before I was forced to leave Avalon…” Yue Zhengling stared at the ceiling with hazy eyes.

"Moreover, during that period, I spent most of my time hiding from the pursuit of those bizarre and fantastical creations. The only few times I sparred with Merlin were just like what you just did, where he attacked and I dodged. By the way, Merlin is not only a swordsman, but also a spearman. The bottom of his staff is a spearhead."

Upon hearing this, Arthur couldn't help but imagine what Merlin looked like.

Next, he listened to Yue Zhengling reminisce about his time living in Avalon. Although most of his words sounded like complaints, he could tell from these complaints that Yue Zhengling didn't actually hate that period of his life.

"So, how did you get to Avalon?" Feeling the time was right, Arthur asked the question that touched Yue Zhengling's heart.

After listening to Yue Zhengling talk about his life in Avalon, he understood Yue Zhengling's desire for a stable life. However, he also concluded that Yue Zhengling's escapist personality was not developed in Avalon. If that was the case, then the root cause was self-evident.

Sure enough, after hearing Arthur ask this question, Yue Zhengling turned her head away so that he wouldn't see her ugly expression, and closed her eyes.

There's a saying that "the eyes are the windows to the soul," and he was afraid that someone as astute as Arthur might be able to discern something from his reactions.

"Oh, before going to Avalon. There's not much to say about that. After all, it was the life of a thirteen or fourteen-year-old kid. Most of the days were uneventful, and he was always struggling to make ends meet. It wasn't interesting at all."

This statement can be considered the truth, since that dramatic change occurred in the last week of his life, and compared to the ordinary days before, it was negligible in terms of the proportion of his life.

"Is that really the case?" Arthur tapped on the bar, trying to get Yue Zhengling's attention, but he didn't move and didn't say anything more.

Arthur knew that today's investigation had not been successful, but he was not in a hurry, and he believed that Yue Zhengling would tell him one day.

For the rest of the time, Arthur was drinking alone, while Yue Zhengling once again became a couch potato, lying on the bar.

As the sun gradually set and night finally fell, Arthur suddenly exclaimed in surprise, "I never imagined this place was like this!"

Yue Zhengling, who hadn't made a move until now, turned around curiously and opened her eyes a crack to look at Arthur after such a long time.

Arthur looked at the ceiling as if he had discovered something interesting, a slight smile on his face. Yue Zhengling thought that this was an expression with maximum destructive power for women.

No wonder he's a heartthrob. Thinking this, Yue Zhengling looked away from Arthur's face and followed his gaze to the ceiling, where he discovered the reason that amazed him.

At this point in the night, the small spheres hanging from the ceiling were glowing. Le Zhengling didn't know the reason for this, because the color of these spheres was not fluorescent green, but the same color as real stars as they appear to the naked eye.

Because right above him was the solar system: the orange-red sun, the gray-blue Mercury, the bright yellow Venus, the blue Earth…

Various planet models are shrunk down on this ceiling, making you feel like you're in a stargazing room.

"This design is really interesting," Arthur said softly, stroking his wine glass.

"Hmm, that's right, but what's the principle behind these lights—no, never mind, let's not delve into it, after all, poverty limits my imagination."

Le Zhengling also sighed. He originally wanted to explore the light-emitting principle of these spheres, since without electricity, the fluorescent light colors are limited to a few. But after thinking about it, he realized that this was the 21st century, and with money, nothing was impossible.

With that thought, he lost all desire to investigate further. He leaned back on the bar stool, tilted his head back, and began to carefully observe this fictional starry sky.

Arthur heard what Yue Zhengling said, but just smiled and didn't say anything. The two of them just watched each other quietly.

Time was meaningless to both of them. As the seconds passed, they looked at the same starry sky, and eventually their expressions became somewhat dazed. Arthur was the first to come to his senses. After he looked away, his brows furrowed imperceptibly.

There seems to be something wrong with these planet models. He felt like he was being drawn into something, but he had good self-control and managed to come to his senses when he almost lost his way.

Although I didn't feel any harm, there was always a strange, inexplicable feeling about it.

At that moment, Yue Zhengling spoke incoherently, "People die when they are killed, planets die when they are killed, and the murderer is human? The fate of the Steel Land is inevitable, so the planet—"

Hearing Yue Zhengling rambling, Arthur's eyes narrowed. He glanced warily at the fake starry sky one last time, then immediately reached out to push Yue Zhengling, but Yue Zhengling dodged him.

"The burning of humanity is only the beginning; the war of the Seven Crowns and Seven Beasts has already begun—"

As Yue Zhengling dodged Arthur's movements and uttered these words, the starry sky above suddenly began to rotate, with planets rotating on their own axes and galaxies revolving around each other.

Arthur finally understood what that strange aura was all about. "Did we let our guard down because things have been too peaceful lately?"

As the Holy Sword wielder who protects the planet, he was no stranger to these auras; they were auras from outer space. He hadn't reacted immediately because there was no threat and the aura was too unfamiliar.

Or perhaps the other party hid it so well that he didn't notice.

"—The alien god, at the end of the stars, re-emerged with seven civilizations..." The starry sky emitted an unreal light, various planets shrank, the solar system became a point of light, the Milky Way became a patch of light, and various extragalactic galaxies appeared, forming the universe.

"Unknown alien god, what have you done to my companions!" Arthur raised the Star Sword and shouted.

Because of his momentary negligence, Yue Zhengling was now in danger, and Arthur was extremely anxious. He knew that the post-apocalyptic world was prone to attracting strange and unusual things, but he had become complacent because he hadn't encountered them for so long.

Chapter 112 Alien God

"Um, you don't need to be so nervous. I just looked over here, I didn't do anything."

Just when Arthur thought he wouldn't get any response, a confused female voice rang out.

Upon hearing this voice, Arthur did not relax; instead, he tensed up and simultaneously released the Wind King's Barrier, revealing the holy sword used to deal with planetary threats.

"You really don't need to be so nervous! I mean no harm! Don't point that terrifying weapon at me!" The voice clearly knew what the holy sword in Arthur's hand was all about. Although the sword posed no threat to her now, just like no one likes having a gun pointed at them, even if they know the gun isn't loaded, they just can't accept it emotionally.

"Imaginative research, the re-emergence of the Age of Gods, the jubilation of the inner gods, all culminating in the death of the First Beast—"

As Yue Zhengling spoke, the starry sky gradually transformed into a sphere reflecting the universe.

With wary eyes fixed on the sphere, Arthur slowly moved toward Yue Zhengling, but his actions did not elicit any reaction from the alien god.

"That's a rather strange [being] beside you," the voice said, sounding somewhat confused. "He's not from this world, is he?"

Arthur stood in front of Yue Zhengling, not touching him rashly this time. "It should be so. According to him, he came here from another parallel world."

"...So you didn't know either. The world I was referring to... never mind, there's no point in saying all this." The sphere floated in mid-air. "But this is really interesting. I didn't expect this world to allow such an existence. It's really like us."

“The pruning is the nourishment—” Yue Zhengling murmured to himself, staring at the sphere as if he had lost his soul.