Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 237: Wrath of the Gods

Jesse Dylan of Tumbleweed lost his voice, and the fluctuations of another spiritual sacrifice spell became weaker and weaker. Hamlin could basically guess what happened. After all, after spending all these years in the choir of the Laddism Church, “Spiritual Sacrifice” was the only spell they were allowed to practice.

Jesse Dylan fell into a serious injury or coma, making it impossible to continue to deliver magic through the seal. As for Adrian Cross, from the perspective of the battle that took place not long ago, he most likely didn’t have much energy to spare.

Now that they have left the abyss, the two members of Tumbleweed were extremely weak, and one of them showed clear signs of deformation. It was a good time for the fanatics to act—even if the Pope himself pursued the matter afterwards, he couldn’t be able to fault the procedure and could only eat this hidden loss.

The palms of Hamlin’s hands resting on the armrests were full of sweat.

Rugo, the one-eyed dwarf, despised humans. Even if he would agree with Mr. Cross because of his strength, it didn’t really mean he really cared about Cross’ life.

He could return to the surface safely and unscathed. He just needed to continue to pretend to be weak and watch all this. When this task was over, he would be able to leave the choir and return to his home where he was no longer poor.

But….

Hamlin Elmer raised his head and turned his blind eyes in the direction of Adrian Cross’s aura.

The traitor of the Laddism Church, the black badge of sin. When he originally stayed in the Holy Land of Hatfield, Hamlin had heard a lot of rumors about Adrian Cross.

He colluded with a high-level figure of the Mooney Sect and lost his power at the most important moment for the battle of the dragon breath stone mine, causing the elites of the Knights of Judgement to fall into a bitter battle and he was greatly wounded. Not to mention carrying the mark of a contract with a superior demon and inducing the “Battlefield Saint” Cahill Edwards to form a contract with a superior demon.

Despite the benefits Tumbleweed bestowed on his brother, in that suffocating darkness, Mr. Cross was the only one who found him in poor condition.

The only one.

Hamlin shivered and lowered his body, tremblingly trying to connect the sacrificial blood mark to the back of the neck of the former Knight of Judgement.

His older brother was waiting for him to go home. It was a felony to use spiritual sacrifice against people outside the holy church—not to mention apostates—without authorization. Once discovered…

Impulsive and extremely stupid, Hamlin thought to himself. It had never occurred to him that the first time he attempted to defy the dogmas, he would have to take such a risk of this magnitude.

But if the other party just wants a little time, a little time to protect his companion.

Mr. Cross’s voice trembled a little. Would the “Shining Morning Star” also feel fear?

Hamlin clasped his cold hands and shuddered as he gasped for breath.

[O merciful God, all glory belongs to you. Please forgive me for my sins and take me out of this quagmire.]

He prayed desperately from the bottom of his heart, and then channeled his power regardless.

Adrian Cross, who had gained the power, didn’t pray.

After many pleas to no avail, he simply accepted the status quo. The former Knight of Judgment just stood there quietly, holding on to his broken body, with a terrifying peaceful smile on his face.

The wariness radiated from the tattered silver sword to the surrounding area, but whenever anyone tried to approach, the blade was bound to bring up a bloodstain when it cut through. Whether it was armor, a heavy shield, or another sword, all became paper-thin and fragile in front of that sharp aura.

Considering Hamlin’s own weak condition, Adrian didn’t dare ask for too much strength. He stayed there stubbornly, with sword skills as his main attack form while using spells as an auxiliary, without retreating a single step.

Like a fortress with breath.

Until now, how many minutes had passed?

A new round of spells blasted down, and the field of vision was stained with blood red. Adrian found that his breathing had begun to become unstable.

But the person behind him still didn’t wake.

…Then it continued.

He was gradually moving towards death, and Adrian knew this very well. After several fierce battles in succession, his hands trembled uncontrollably, and his muscles seemed to be completely torn apart. Excessive blood loss made his entire body cold.

But the smile at the corner of his mouth became bigger.

What a familiar cold, Adrian thought groggily. Just like sixteen years ago? Or seventeen years ago?

It should be at that time that he first met the guy behind him who couldn’t wake up.

Adrian couldn’t remember too many details about the war; only the scorched tree trunks, swollen corpses, and the overwhelming snowstorms after the war. In the winter, when there was a lack of food, human cannibalism was followed by demons and beasts swarming to snatch the remaining corpses.

Grief turned into hunger, hunger turned into despair, and then violence was born. Chaos.

And he stepped on the thick snow, walking alone in the storm at night.

After losing everything in the war, Adrian, who was still a teenager, didn’t have much choice—he didn’t want to stab his former neighbor’s head with the tip of a branch for a little bedding and hard bread, but he didn’t want to shrink into the ruins of blood splashing and beasts wandering, waiting for death to come.

In the endless madness, a person who wasn’t strong enough was very likely to become the dinner of a certain beast or a certain number of people.

Fortunately, he wasn’t desperate.

The Laddism Church was not far away. They were willing to accept war orphans of the right age. He just needed to walk through the woods next to the ruins of the village for two days and nights. Amid a blizzard that seemed never-ending, such a move was tantamount to suicide.

However, that was his only choice.

The wind blasted ice that made the skin of Adrian’s face numb. The shabby clothes that weren’t thick enough couldn’t withstand the cold, and his feet had already lost consciousness, and he could only shiver and count his steps.

He didn’t know how long he had been walking, and all he saw was a vast expanse of white. Adrian couldn’t even tell where he was coming from and in which direction he was going. To make matters worse, he may have been going in circles like a headless fly.

The dead sporadic trees were buried deep in the snow, gradually turning into the same appearance in his eyes.

What followed was an increasingly thickening darkness.

After a daytime journey, facing the gradually darkened sky, Adrian tasted true despair for the first time.

He thought he could find one or two wood stakes to resist the cold wind, and if he was lucky, he could get some dead grass and soft bark for food, but he didn’t find anything. There were only scattered dead trees and white snow left in the world.

He was about to die.

Adrian inserted the thick branch in his hand into the snow layer as deep as his knees, almost instinctively moving forward. Everything in front of him began to blur, and the skin rubbing against the rough clothing began to become hot and painful. His breathing seemed to be frozen, his throat was blocked by the cold wind, and he couldn’t breathe.

The last thing left in his memory was the snow; a blur of glowing white snow in the night. Adrian knelt down and let them catch his body. He raised his head laboriously and stretched out his hand in the direction of the imaginary church.

But he knew in his heart that the snow here would bury him and then spit out his bones in the spring.

‘I don’t want to die yet,’ Adrian, who was still a teenager at the time, thought numbly.

That was his last thought before he lost consciousness.

What happened afterwards was enough to be called a miracle.

In fact, until not long ago, Adrian Cross wasn’t sure if it was a bizarre illusion he had had at his deathbed. Or maybe he had simply encountered some kind passerby and his frozen brain had distorted reality.

The first thing to come was a warm breath, and his gaze passed through the eyelashes decorated with ice grains. Stimulated by the long-lost warmth, Adrian swept his eyes unconsciously.

He saw a row of huge sharp teeth belonging to beasts, but his nose, which was so frozen that he lost consciousness, didn’t smell the peculiar fishy smell of the beast, and there was only a vague sound of wind in his ears.

The excessively tall beast was staring at him with icy blue eyes. Its gaze was cold and emotionless, like its color. He still couldn’t escape the fate of being eaten by beasts, or so Adrian thought casually, but at least now he wouldn’t feel too much pain.

However, what came immediately was not the tearing of sharp teeth, but an ocean of soft fur.

The huge beast laid down, curled his body into a ball, and wrapped him in the middle of its body. The soft and smooth white long hair seemed to have magic power, and a strange sense of floating wrapped him, and his limbs tingled to regain consciousness. Adrian subconsciously grabbed the long soft hair, making sure he smelled a little mixed aroma of berries and milk.

If this was an illusion before death, perhaps death may not be as terrifying as he thought.

The long, fluffy white fur insulated him from the blizzard’s hail while allowing him to breathe freely. It was so warm that the overly comfortable softness couldn’t give any semblance of reality.

But after waking up the next day, Adrian found that the furry illusion was still in place. He finally struggled to get himself out of the pile of long hair. The huge beast was still balled up, and the white fur and snow almost fused as one. Those icy blue eyes were closed tightly, and the weird horn gleamed with delicate golden light under the sun.

It was also snoring slightly.

The blizzard had stopped at some point and the sun poured down. He no longer felt hungry or thirsty. Adrian stretched out his arm, passed through the thick long hair, and tentatively poked the beast. The other party just snorted a few times and balled up even tighter.

Adrian looked around subconsciously. Under the clear blue sky, he could see a little bit of the spire belonging to the church.

The destination was right in front of him, but he clearly hadn’t gone very far last night. Given what was happening right now was bizarre enough. Adrian pulled out a thick branch in his hair and gave the weird animal a clumsy salute.

The other party smacked its mouth in its sleep, without meaning to wake up. The elegant behemoth was still lying in the snow, as beautiful as a dream.

The matter after that was simple. Adrian arrived at the church with strong support, and then was successfully taken in. He ran back to the woods on the first day he got his winter clothes, but the weird beast had long since disappeared.

It also didn’t exist in any books, murals, legends, or even the nonsense of bards. Adrian tried to ask the high-level officials of the church and the residents who have lived there for a long time, but all he got were basically “never seen it”, “you’re just seeing things” or similar responses.

The beast only existed in his broken memory, leaving no other traces.

After that, every winter, Adrian would go to the woods to look for it, chasing an increasingly vague illusion—until that winter day when the promotion order came, and he was to become the Chief Justice of the Knights of Judgement.

“Goodbye.”

Adrian, who was no longer a teenager, lowered his head and said goodbye to the woods for the last time.

The moment he raised his head, he seemed to see it again—that beautiful beast, standing not far away from the dead trees. Its icy blue eyes were full of playfulness.

But when Adrian looked closely, only snow could be seen among the brown-black branches covered with ice edges.

[You finally found me. Adri, I told you, right? I like the way you are now. It makes me feel… very nostalgic.]

Jesse Dylan had known for a long time… That bastard who wouldn’t wake up.

In the gradually blurred consciousness, the memories faded.

Adrian raised the sword in his hand. His ears filled with the sounds of his own breathing and heartbeat. His swollen eyelids were almost too heavy to lift, and his body was instinctively resisting the waves of sword blades, sharp arrows, and spells.

The silver sword let out an overwhelmed sound. The former Chief Justice of the Knight of Judgement could hardly see anything in front of him.

He gripped the somewhat deformed silver sword. His remaining strength wasn’t even enough to raise the corner of his mouth. The fanatics seemed to be shouting something, but he could no longer understand the meaning of those words.

Adrian could only barely distinguish the spells that appeared in front of him.

The former Chief Justice of the Knight of Judgement was once very good at this endless pursuit. It was an extremely destructive spell and difficult to launch. His opponent must have had a high-level scroll specifically used for Jesse Dylan.

The warm white light pierced his eyes, like bright snow in the sun.

[Promise me, don’t die easily.]

[Then you have to protect me. I’m very fragile.]

He had promised two things to the capricious Mr. Dylan, but now it seemed he must break one of those promises.

Since he could choose only one, he would choose the one he liked best. The other party had given him so many years of time, so it was time to give it back.

“Goodbye,” he said softly, suddenly wanting to hear Jesse Dylan ask that question again.

[Hey Adri, do you like me a little bit today?]

Since he didn’t like lying, how should he answer this time?

In order to avoid excessive loss of magic and kill Hamlin, Adrian cut off his own spiritual sacrifice. He didn’t dodge the burning white light, but just squeezed out all the remaining magic he had in his body to build a final protection.

The spell penetrated the flesh and blood, and then dissipated. The deformed sword was inserted into the ground, but Adrian Cross still didn’t fall.

Only pools of blood continued to accumulate at his feet, and then spread. The warm blood gradually cooled and soaked the long coat of the blond young man behind him.

Two or three seconds passed, and Jesse Dylan blinked.

This journey to the Abyss wasn’t at all pleasant. As if a complete release of instinct, the hostility of the Demon King’s own body overwhelmed him without hesitation. The connection with his own body was severed, and the battle at the Pale Hive had completely overdrawn his powers, so he almost didn’t have the power to maintain his form.

Jesse raised his hand and was satisfied to find that he had returned to his human form.

Then he propped one hand on the ground, and as soon as he sat up, he frowned because of the wetness of his hands and the blood that filled his nose.

“Adri.” Jesse turned his gaze as usual and looked at the figure standing beside him.

But his knight commander did not respond to the call. Jesse raised his eyes and even saw a small piece of sky through the terrifying hole in the opponent’s left chest.

The blond young man fell silent.

“……No.” After a while, he retracted his gaze and muttered softly. “It seems that I’m still a little late.”

After that, he stood up and scanned the fanatics who were standing quietly around him, as if they hadn’t recovered from the scene in front of them.

“Gentlemen, gentlemen.” Jesse Dylan’s tone sounded as brisk as ever.

His star went out. Adrian Cross was a mortal, after all, and humans were fragile and transient. They easily died for various strange reasons. Even if he was once a “Shining Morning Star”, he would inevitably slowly decay, turn into bones, and eventually be completely forgotten by the world, like a worm molting in the corner of an abandoned house.

“It’s true that something terrible happened just now, but it was all a misunderstanding, I promise. I can explain.” Jesse raised his hands and stepped forward, soaked in blood but was strangely mellow.

Their main target, the apostate Cross, was dead, and there was nothing to be feared. The fanatics looked at the man in front of them and frowned.

Jesse Dylan had completely returned to his human appearance, and all the abnormal magic fluctuations had disappeared at that moment. After achieving the main purpose and losing important evidence of his deformation, things began to get a bit tricky, but they didn’t wait for each other to agree on the next second…

“…I should have said this,” The abnormally beautiful blond young man walked past the body of the former Chief Justice who hadn’t fallen down, and the smile on his face completely disappeared. “But I’m a little pissed off right now.”

The only remaining member of Tumbleweed took another step forward, picked up the half-unconscious gray parrot on the ground, and threw it on the back of the fuller goat.

“Actually, correction. I’m quite pissed off.”

Jesse thought for a while, and his tone was laced with some seriousness. He didn’t look back at the corpse, yet his tone was cold and calm.

“I haven’t been able to beat Adri, yet you killed him. Like I said, I don’t like losing.”

It was clear the other party hadn’t taken any action, but the backs of the fanatics who stood closest to him suddenly felt chills down their spine. This was instinctive fear, as if it wasn’t a human in front of them but some unknown and terrifying natural enemy.

They didn’t wait for the orders and attacked directly.

But their goal didn’t even bother to cast a look. Jesse Dylan glanced at the spell that rushed into his eyes. The spell stopped in mid-air for a few seconds, and then returned the same way.

The deadly spell passed through the caster’s head, and the sound of his body falling to the ground was particularly heavy in the silence.

“You made the first move.” Jesse shook his finger. “Remember, now even Adri or our leader can’t make excuses to scold me.”

“Adrian Cross is dead.” The leader of the mages swallowed as he hissed back.

Commander Rugo didn’t make a sound. He looked at Jesse in front of him with his big yellow eyes and his thin hands touched a scroll.

“Isn’t it obvious? I’m not stupid,” Jesse responded lightly, taking another step forward. “It was clearly agreed that he wasn’t allowed to die easily… He was quite fragile before, and I only took my eyes off him for a single moment. Ugh.”

“You can’t attack us.” The fanatic in the red robe glanced at his companion, who fell to the ground. His voice was shrill. “We haven’t violated any dogma. Even if the Pope was here, he has no right to interfere with our actions!”

“Adrian Cross was originally a despicable apostate and a little merit escorting can’t offset his sins. As for you, Dylan. Stay where you are now, otherwise we will start attacking—”

“Apostate… Ha.” A sneer gradually appeared on Jesse Dylan’s beautiful expressionless face.

“What do your dogmas matter to me? For the benefit of the surface? To be honest, I know your stupid dogmas, but none of them stipulates that the deformation check must be carried out immediately. Let me see the time… Well, I just fell into a coma for fifteen minutes. What? Did you receive some divination in advance that if you didn’t check immediately that the surface would explode in fifteen minutes?”

“If you’re really justified, my stupid Adri wouldn’t resist the so-called ‘righteousness’. Make your own dogmas, preach your own justice, and then exploit the loopholes of the dogmas that you have set for yourself. Your goal was Adri from the beginning, right? Using me to do this… Ah, how wonderful.”

The blond young man clapped his hands insincerely and took another step forward.

“Attack!” the mage ordered loudly. “For the glory of Zenni!”

Several white rays of light shot out from all directions.

Then it disappeared halfway, leaving no trace.

“I’ve changed my mind.” Jesse Dylan glanced at the corpses that were mutilated from his spell rebound and rubbed his chin. “It’s boring to kill you all so quickly… After all, according to your delusions, if you die in battle against ‘evil’, you can still enter paradise, or some other shithole.”

What answered him was a more rapid and violent attack.

But those earth-shattering spells still melted quietly halfway through. The sharp blade burned and vaporized directly before it touched the corners of Jesse Dylan’s clothes.

“As I see it, you all deserve a reward for being so pious… Truly deserving of a careful ‘commendation’.”

Jesse walked directly to the leading mage and grabbed the opponent by the collar. The tone of voice was very soft, but the malice in it was almost overflowing.

“Don’t you want to maintain the glory of God and keep believers pure? Isn’t your ultimate goal to return to your ideal paradise and prostrate yourself in front of Zenni?”

The mage touched the dragon breath stone dagger in his pocket, raised his hand and stabbed Jesse Dylan in the abdomen, but it was like piercing into the void, as he couldn’t hurt his opponent in the slightest.

“What the hell are you?” he squeezed a question out from between his teeth.

“I have many names. Which one do you want to know?” Jesse’s voice was clear and loud. “Now my name is Jesse Dylan, but the elves like the name ‘Celestine’, and those one-eyed dwarfs call me ‘Mansfield’. Did you see the dragon fainting over there? They call me ‘Dimitrios’.”

Then, the blond monster curled his lips sarcastically.

“And you always call me ‘Zenni’.”

“What nonsense are you talking about—”

“Next, please greet your gods properly.”

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Kinky Thoughts:

What is going on with this arc. Everyone be dying!!! My poor little heart can’t take it.

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<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 236: Inhuman Things

Oliver didn’t bring everyone back to Return Town.

Nemo’s casting was terminated for some unknown reason, and the temporarily opened space passage quickly collapsed. Oliver, who had rushed to the front, seemed to have found a certain coordinate, and he rushed straight forward, forcibly tearing the almost unbreakable space in front of him with the gray mist.

Godwin opened his eyes as his painful burns were treated urgently by Debby. A cold liquid hit his skin along with a gust of wind that was scarlet and viscous.

With the complete loss of the Nemo Light’s support and since the rest of them weren’t strong enough to tear space, the leader of Tumbleweed rushed forward alone; the gray mist’s actions became more disordered.

But he didn’t look back even once. He didn’t know if it was out of worry or pain, but Oliver kept rushing forward faster, which only made his wounds bleed more.

Godwin gritted his teeth, inserted the sword into the stone platform, and forcibly propped up his body.

Barely maintaining the spell, Debby cried until she almost suffocated. She clenched the rod tremblingly with one hand and almost scratched the hem of the robe with the other. Tears couldn’t stop gushing from her eyes. Godwin hesitated for a moment, sighed softly, pressed her head gently on his chest, and took over the defensive array.

Debby grasped Godwin’s broken cloak with both hands, choking in exhaustion and pain.

Some time later, they finally saw light.

In a frantic burst, Oliver directly took everyone to the surface closest to the Abyss. With a sound of eruption, the stone platform rose from the ground and landed firmly under the guard of a defensive spell.

Oliver glanced around to make sure that everyone was okay, then turned around and walked in a certain direction.

Even if Nemo had endured part of the pressure to tear apart the space in advance, forcibly passing through the boundary between the surface and the Abyss was still an extremely crazy thing—Oliver’s body was barely intact, but he still stood, expressionlessly, allowing blood to drip onto the slightly withered grass.

He staggered forward, slowly and hopelessly, like a dying warrior on the battlefield, heading in the direction of his hometown.

The gray mist around Oliver began to spiral out of control and, instead of exploding, it flew across his skin, bringing up wounds after wounds.

“Stop, Ramon.” Godwin’s voice was hoarse. “You need treatment.”

“I need to find Bagelmaurus,” Oliver whispered dreamily, stopping, but he didn’t look back. “Its connection with Nemo should still be there. It should be able to feel Nemo’s situation. I can feel it. It’s nearby. I have to go…”

After just a moment’s pause, a bleak pool of blood accumulated under his feet.

The gray mist swirled crazier.

Godwin didn’t say much. He patted Debby on the back and stood up, ignoring the wound in his abdomen that had reopened.

In the next second, he flashed behind Oliver, raising his hand like a sharp knife. The out-of-control gray mist exploded, leaving several deep wounds on Godwin’s body, and then finally subsided.

“You can’t go now!” A member of the reconnaissance team subconsciously made a sound, supporting the red dragon, who was lying on the ground panting frantically, and stood up. “The escort is not over yet—”

“Shut up.” The Preceptor coughed violently. “It’s safe here. Let them…”

“Debby, gather Horizon and escort these people back to where they should go. I’ll pay for the operation.” Godwin neatly painted a hemostatic spell on Oliver’s black armor and took out a few sheets of healing spell parchments from his pocket, ignited them, and pressed them on his newly added wound.

Then he picked up Oliver. “I’ll take him to his companions. There’s a place nearby that has a clear demonic aura. Ramon’s situation isn’t good. He… needs his companions.”

Debby sobbed and nodded. Her throat seemed to be swollen, and she couldn’t make a sound for a long time.

She took out a golden communication crystal and smashed it directly with magic. The young mage’s legs trembled with excessive grief, but she forced herself to straighten her back and continue to cast the soothing and healing spell.

She was extremely cruel to herself, which was really… like her eldest brother, whom she wasn’t even related to by blood.

Godwin sighed again from the bottom of his heart, turned his head in silence, and carried Oliver towards the familiar demonic aura. This was probably the only good thing—that parrot had returned to the surface, so there was a high probability that the other reconnaissance team was safe.

“Hold on,” Godwin whispered.

His last blood relative was still unconscious behind him, his face full of blood and tears. Compared with a cold relative, Oliver Ramon needed a companion who he could thoroughly trust.

Unfortunately, fate was always capable of becoming crueler.

The Pale Hive half an hour ago.

Since they were surrounded, the reconnaissance team no longer had the need to discreetly hide their tracks. All the magic lamps lit up and fluttered around the team like bees.

Adrian quickly treated several of the more fatal wounds on his lower body and didn’t bother to care about the minor injuries that weren’t deep. He picked up a silver sword that had lost its owner from the stone platform and straightened his back.

“Jesse.” His voice was still clear. “Can you still hold on?”

Adrian knew that although Jesse Dylan was in poor condition at the moment, if the opponent wanted to escape alone, the chance of survival would definitely be much higher than it was now.

Jesse stood up straight and gathered the slightly scattered blond hair. He still had a smirk that one couldn’t see the emotion behind, and his voice was frivolous and rambling. “Like I said, I don’t like to lose. Not to mention losing to a bunch of brainless insects.”

Under the gaze of countless demons, people huddled together, despair and panic spreading like a fierce plague. The blond young man stretched out his hand and grabbed the broken collar of Adrian’s uniform and pulled him in to kiss the other party’s blood-stained lips without hesitation.

The knight commander frowned slightly but didn’t push him away.

“Let’s play something crazier,” he whispered ambiguously, wiping the dry blood marks on the side of Adrian’s face with his fingertips. “You can use all the moves you want, my love. Don’t worry about me. On the opposite side is just a group of demons who can’t even make it to the top. You are the ‘Shining Morning Star’.”

“You’re already very weak.”

“Well, that’s a problem. After all, I have been given a little ‘special treatment’ here, and I have to complain to Mr. Light about it.”

Jesse rubbed his lower lip with his fingers while muttering inexplicable words. The bloodstains left by the kiss were rubbed away a little.

“The situation is special. If my powers are completely drained, I may temporarily pass out.” In the roar of the demons, Jesse Dylan’s voice was very soft. “Once I get to that point, my appearance may change a little… Well, rather peculiarly. Don’t worry about me then, just take me back to the surface and I will wake up after I recover.”

“I understand.” Adrian separated his feet slightly and lowered his center of gravity. “I can do whatever I want, right?”

“Oh, if you are willing to say this on other occasions—”

“I’ll make it quick.” Adrian interrupted as calmly as always.

“Of course, I’ll join you in something this exciting, baby.” Jesse showed a bright smile and turned his back.

He raised his hands. This time, there was no longer a dagger between his fingers, but pure brilliance. Jesse raised his hand casually, and the white shield firmly covered the remaining members of the reconnaissance team.

Bagelmaurus originally wanted to try to rush out to fight, but it hit the shield with its head, and most of the feathers on its head were directly burned. It shouted expletives, flew back the same way bitterly, and protected the fuller goat again.

Feeling the breath of another person behind him, Adrian subconsciously bent the corner of his mouth.

Then the destructive surface magic fluctuations suddenly spread out. The amazing killing and fighting intent condensed into a ball, turning into an invisible, sharp blade. They stabbed at the gathered demons in a very targeted manner, and the huge monsters subconsciously retracted into the cave.

Since losing his power, the title “Shining Morning Star” had rarely been mentioned again. It wasn’t that the Laddism Church didn’t try to retain Adrian Cross, but the reticent genius refused the choir entourage assigned to him by the Church and willingly became an ordinary inspector.

His power showed no signs of recovery, and over time, the brilliance that had made countless enemies afraid turned into the dust of rumors.

A traitor who wags his tail to the Demon King and begs for mercy, how much credibility does that exaggerated strength have?

But at this moment, the former commander of the Knights of Judgement exploded into full strength without any scruples, and the rumors in the corner of those memories instantly turned into reality.

“Get lost.” The ordinary silver sword in Adrian Cross’ hand was full of brilliance at this moment, and his eyes were burning to the point that it was impossible to see straight. “This is the final warning.”

Not to mention the real target of the killing intent, several reconnaissance members who were affected softened their feet on the spot.

The demons twisted their bodies angrily, causing the Pale Hive to tremble with their movements and began to collapse. Some of the smaller demons pulled their heads back into the cave—after all, they had just gained freedom. Although they were hungry, it was more important to keep their lives.

Besides, there were only a few morsels of prey and it smelled extremely dangerous.

The rest of them stuck their heads out again, opened their saliva-filled mouth pieces, and rushed towards them with magic.

“I warned you.” Adrian’s voice was very calm. “Pardon my rudeness.”

Almost in the next second, countless star-like spheres of light lit up above their heads with shining trails of light attached to them, which at first glance looked like a sky full of stars. No one could see the movement of the former knight commander clearly. They could only see the ball of light hovering in the dark for a moment before exploding all at once.

A foul-smelling rain of blood suddenly fell in the large hollows of the Pale Hive. The fuchsia flesh and blood slapped on the protective shield above the head of the reconnaissance team, making an unpleasant sizzling sound.

Adrian didn’t stop there, he jumped back to the stone platform.

“Activate the dragon breath stone prop and get the dragon ready!” He directly commanded. “They are going to blow themselves up. Get ready to retreat!”

His judgment was accurate.

The thoughts of these demons were very simple. When they found that they were seriously injured and had no hope of healing, they would instinctively remove this danger to their own race—

A rich abyssal magic fluctuation suddenly swayed away.

The reconnaissance team climbed onto the back of the blue dragon one after another, and the gray parrot laboriously grabbed the leash of the fuller goat and pulled it up. Unfortunately, the Moonies who operated the dragon breath stone flying props hands were shaking so badly that they were half a beat slower.

The abyssal magic mixed together and suddenly exploded.

Adrian swallowed the blood rushing to his throat. As an experienced fighter, he knew his physical condition well. He himself had used more spells than he had ever used at his peak, and the power Jesse had supplied him with was purer than anything he ever had.

Excessive purity wasn’t something that a normal human body could withstand, and it could also cause damage.

Although it seemed okay on the surface, his internal organs were rupturing. If he didn’t leave in time…

Adrian gritted his teeth and activated the advanced guard spell again.

A heavy hostility surged from the depths of the Abyss and enveloped him in an instant. Adrian’s scalp was numb, and he almost thought he had been crushed into a meat puree by the hostility.

Jesse’s reaction became stronger, and the blond young man grunted and suddenly lost consciousness. Everyone had no time to take care of themselves, and no one bothered to tie extra ropes to this annoying Black Chapter.

Adrian grabbed Jesse, who almost fell from the dragon’s back with one hand. The force of hostility was so strong that he almost broke all his teeth from gritting. He barely held onto the protective spell, but there was still a lot of Abyssal magic mixed with demon flesh that kept pouring in, splashing the entire reconnaissance team’s face.

The dragon breath stone prop was finally successfully activated.

Adrian held the unconscious Jesse Dylan in his arms, lest the other party fall back into the abyss. Ignoring the pain spreading all over his body, he closed his eyes in the dazzling white light. Although his whole body was covered with demon flesh and blood, they were undoubtedly rising rapidly.

They were about to leave.

When he saw the sun again, Adrian landed on his knees and couldn’t stand up for a long time.

The excessive use of power gave him a splitting headache. His ears were ringing so badly that it was maddening, and his brain was dizzy due to a lack of oxygen. He vomited a few sips of dirty blood, and the silver sword in his hand was pitted and full of scratches.

His eyes were full of flying spots, and it took a long time to see the face of the person in his arms clearly.

In the next second, Adrian woke up instantly.

Jesse Dylan’s almost perfect face no longer has anything to do with the word “beautiful” at this moment. His face was horribly distorted, half of it barely maintaining its human form, and the other half was twisted into the form of a beast. An alien horn poked out of his head and the distortion continued.

The other party unconsciously opened five fingers turned into sharp claws, and long snow-white hairs appeared in the wide cuffs, stained with purple-black blood stains.

Adrian stretched out his hand groggily and gently touched the other party’s paw.

That’s it.

Sour emotions blocked his throat, and he opened his mouth, but he couldn’t make a sound.

“Routine inspection.” Rugo, the dwarf who finally recovered, said in a sharp voice. “Large contamination of demon flesh and blood, with the possibility of the presence of an injured superior demon. Please cooperate with the inspection—once you find traces of alienation, dispose of it immediately. It needs to be completely destroyed and thrown back into the abyss.”

‘No,’  Adrian thought to himself, and now he knew very well. No matter what Jesse Dylan was, there was absolutely no way he belonged to the Abyss. But the way he looked now…

He hugged the other party tightly in his arms, hiding the other’s terrifying face.

They returned to the surface, and now they could only wait for Dylan to wake up. If he fails to wake up in time… Adrian glanced at the silver swords wrapped around the spells in the hands of the Knights of Judgment.

As Jesse’s appearance changed, the spiritual sacrifice that connected them became more fragile. Not to mention that his physical condition didn’t not allow him to continue fighting; he could no longer use any spells.

He didn’t even have enough strength to stand up.

“Check.” Although hating traitors, the residual power of the former Chief Justice was still there. The tone of the approaching Knights of Judgement was dry, but it wasn’t rude.

“Please wait for us for a while,” Adrian said in a hoarse voice, holding Jesse’s head with his bloodstained hand. “My companion is not in good condition; he needs to recover.”

“Check.” The fanatic holding the sword frowned and clenched the hilt of the sword.

“Is there something wrong with you?!” The gray parrot spit out the leash in his mouth and scolded directly. “The two of them just saved your lives!”

“That’s what they should do.” The fanatical mage’s voice was cold. “The Pope paid, didn’t he? It’s their job to save our lives. Our greatest indulgence to him was to allow a dirty demon like you to wander in front of us.”

The gray parrot seemed to want to spray a few abyssal magic spells on the mage’s face, but it glanced at Adrian, who was in trouble, and swallowed it back abruptly.

Just now, the outbreak of surface magic was too intense, and it hadn’t recovered.

Compared with Adrian Cross and Jesse Dylan, who had fed him, Bagelmaurus undoubtedly hated the fanatics even more. It flew strongly to Adrian’s side, raised its chest, and stared at the sword, dissatisfied.

The Knights of Judgement didn’t wait because of Adrian’s plea. He took out a page of paper full of complex runes and quickly lit it in front of them.

“Jesse Dylan’s condition is not right.” The knight reported in a flat voice. “No aura of abyssal magic has been detected, but his magic fluctuations at the moment aren’t human and don’t match any information. There’s no record of such fluctuations on the surface.”

Adrian lowered his gaze.

“Wait a few more minutes and give us some time. I believe he can explain.”

He needed to stall, even for a second longer—Jesse Dylan always had a great mouth, and when he woke up, he’d be able to resolve this dilemma with the gibberish he was so good at most of the time.

One second, another second.

“Although I would love to say ’vote’, this is not a question of being able to vote.”

The commander said flatly, tugging at his blood-stained beard.

“Thank you for your dedication, Cross. As a commander, I must eliminate all threats to the surface. As a believer, I have to maintain the majesty of Vulcan Mansfield. Your companion is out of luck, I hope you can understand.”

He made a gesture and cut the air with his thin palm.

“May Zenni’s glory last forever.” With the consent of the commander, the Knight of Judgement simply prayed and swung his sword down.

However, the blade failed to connect—another sword stopped its trajectory.

Adrian resisted the attack with his sword and printed a light kiss on Jesse’s twisted forehead. He let go of the arm holding him and forced himself to stand up again.

“Cross, forget it, Cross!” Bagelmaurus hurriedly shouted. “You know him… You know he won’t die! He said he wouldn’t die! He—”

It had to tell the other party the identity of Jesse Dylan. This battle was meaningless. Bagelmaurus tried its best to fly with the last of its strength—even if the other party wouldn’t believe it, even such “disrespectful” remarks would cause trouble. It must…

A scorching white light bombarded down, and it couldn’t say anything, but fell weakly to the ground.

“The testimony of a demon.” The fanatic cast his eyes. “Adrian Cross. Back off now or it’ll be a capital crime.”

“He likes to lie.”

Adrian barely resisted the shock. He ignored the ramblings of the fanatic in front of him but looked seriously at the direction of the gray parrot.

“Thank you, Bagelmaurus. But I can’t watch him be thrown into the Abyss.”

A magical power slowly surged in his exhausted and bleeding internal organs, and Adrian turned his head with difficulty and smiled gratefully at the young choir member hidden among the fanatics.

It’s a pity that Hamlin Elmer couldn’t see it, he thought regretfully.

“I know he is stronger than me. I know he may not die. I know he may not be human… But I promised him below that I would protect him.”

The former judgment knight was covered in blood, but with a smile on his face. He stood firmly in front of Jesse Dylan, holding the silver sword in both hands.

“May Zenni’s glory last forever,” Adrian said softly.

His ears were still ringing badly, and the loss of blood had blurred his vision, but this wasn’t the first time he had teetered on the edge of death.

Counting the initial encounter, how many times did “Jesse Dylan” save him? He thought in a daze.

And when he was struggling to find information, this one was snoring next to him.

…A guy with an extremely bad personality.

“…And,” the pain gradually turned to numbness. He raised his silver sword that was about to break, and the arc of his mouth became wider.

“The cake tasted good.”

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Kinky Thoughts:

Noooooooooo what is with these abusive chapters?

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<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 235: Final Farewell

For an instant, it was like sunlight shot into the Abyss.

Countless shining layers of light closed above their heads, getting brighter and brighter. The dark void above everyone’s heads was instantly filled with white light that pierced people’s eyes with pain. The large black cracks were exposed to strong light, and the original auburn appearance of the rocks was revealed for the first time.

Aurorae turned all the blood-red magic glow into a light shield, using all the burning power for defense. Then he took out a weird prop and carefully activated it behind the light shield…

Based on the abyssal magic fluctuations, it seemed to be some kind of advanced teleportation prop, but it was no longer important.

Nemo didn’t hold back. Turning the staff horizontally, the black shadow shot away in all directions. He tried to hold up a safe space, but unfortunately failed abjectly.

His cognition wasn’t completely clear yet. Even if he had the top power that a human form could achieve, he wasn’t the “complete Demon King” at the peak of his power. At that moment, Nemo’s dark shadow was becoming more unstable, and under the increasingly intense white light, the darkness melted as quickly as the ice and snow brushed on by heat.

The battlefield was already in chaos.

The lantern blind bugs had no eyes but could feel the strong aura of destruction from the white light. They stopped attacking at the same time, screeched for their lives, and quickly crawled down.

Their stout limbs twisted frantically, causing boulders to fly wildly, and sharp rocks exploded and scattered everywhere. Under the hurried guard of the soldiers, the members of the reconnaissance team couldn’t help but raise their heads, squint their eyes, and look at the bright brilliance wrapped in the aura of destruction.

Preceptor Felix took in a cold breath. His brain was numb, as if he had been hit on the head by a hammer.

Felix and the leader of the Mooney Sect recognized their enemy. Having existed for thousands of years, the mysterious and odd Demon Slayer Aurorae had set a deadly trap in which they would all perish.

They had long forgotten about it, but Aurorae still remembered and turned it into a weapon…

Hundreds of sleeping destruction formations were all composed of extremely lethal erosion spells.

The original expeditionary army feared the Demon King could crawl out and use the teleportation array, or was paranoid that some other dangerous power would design some way to release the Demon King. Thousands of years ago, the surface race built a group of destruction arrays on the lower part of the Abyss. They would automatically activate if the Demon King tried to climb up from the bottom of the Abyss after it reached a certain height.

Unfortunately, for demons at the level of the Demon King, the effect of the spell was more inclined as a warning and suppression than to kill.

The powerful destruction formation couldn’t really hurt the Demon King, but the majestic surface power was enough to make it choose another way because of discomfort, like a strong light used to dispel a beast that enjoyed darkness.

But for other surface races, that power was enough to destroy all hopes of survival.

It was normal when one thought about it. In order not to let the danger leak, just sacrificing a few surface teams was really a good deal.

Unfortunately, for thousands of years, the Demon King had been quietly guarding the bottom of the Abyss and had never triggered it. The surface didn’t have the opportunity to recharge these magic arrays, so over time, this group of destruction magic became lines of text in an old, ancient book.

The Preceptor clenched his teeth and tasted blood from his mouth. Even if he had faced superior demons on the surface and experienced countless dangerous and crazy battles before, he had never given up hope.

It was the first time he felt desperation from the bottom of his heart. Felix closed his eyes desperately, nailed to the spot by the biting chill.

The time left for them wasn’t even ten minutes, and it was impossible for the reconnaissance team to repair the teleportation array or just rely on the dragon to leave the area of influence of the destruction array.

Aurorae calculated everything in advance.

The magic array that has been sleeping for thousands of years was difficult to start immediately, so Aurorae took advantage of the approach of the underground Demon King to trigger the arrays and stall the reconnaissance team.

Perhaps it was the tacit understanding between demons, or maybe it was because Aurorae knew some special information, but the Demon King was uncharacteristically attracted by the battle and rushed straight at them.

Until it was close enough to trigger the magic array.

It seemed that Karapan from the Mooney Sect wasn’t so old that he was delirious. The terrifying aura that could make the destruction array react like this, which was quickly approaching, undoubtedly belonged to the Demon King.

Everything was coming to an end.

The Preceptor Bishop raised his eyes. His complicated gaze swept across the two young mercenaries of Horizon and finally stopped on the members of Tumbleweed who were still fighting.

…It was unfortunate for these young geniuses.

Dozens of meters away.

Having only acquired the knowledge in the Abyssal Church collection, Nemo wasn’t sure of the details of the destruction spell, but according to the current situation, he could form a rough guess—the surface should have made some kind of protection against the Demon King, and Aurorae took advantage of it.

Because this surging force undoubtedly belonged to the surface.

Nemo didn’t know if he could escape from this power, but since the Demon King hadn’t been completely killed so far, he most likely would survive.

But he knew Oliver may not be able to, and Debby certainly wouldn’t.

In this light, the lover who has been with him the entire time, the loved one who pleaded to protect him before they set out, the person he held dear would turn to dust. The reconnaissance team would be annihilated here and if Mr. Cross in the distance hadn’t been able to leave…

‘How weird,’ Nemo thought to himself. There were still ten minutes at most before this place would be completely razed to the ground. His lover and companions were facing a dead end, but the initial panic of the moment had disappeared.

Perhaps because he already had a solution in his heart.

Nemo had become good at calculating these things since realizing that he was the Demon King and successfully liberated part of his power. It stood to reason that he should feel sad, angry, and desperate at this moment.

Yet right now, he was filled with a strong sense of reluctance within him, as well as a fear that could corrode his internal organs.

“Ollie, come here,” Nemo called softly.

Oliver’s face was still full of anxiety, and he was busy commanding the gray mist, trying to erect some kind of shield, but they all understood that the unprepared power was still too fragile before this heavy breath of destruction.

As strong as they were, they may not be defeated and wouldn’t die as a result, but they also couldn’t protect anyone. If there was enough time, maybe the two of them could still find a solution with the least amount of sacrifice, but now they were…

Oliver dashed back to Nemo.

Nemo had never looked at him so seriously before—his lover’s face was pale and his forehead was full of sweat, but there was still some kind of hope burning at the bottom of his eyes.

His Great Hero.

“It’s okay, Ollie.” Nemo spoke as calmly as possible, hiding the bitterness in his tone. “I have a way.”

Oliver’s eyes lit up, and he breathed out fiercely. “What do you need me to do?”

No matter how painful and anxious his gaze was, when they looked at him, those eyes were always gentle.

Nemo opened his mouth, as if a poisonous thorn was stuck in his throat. He couldn’t spit out the answer directly. Ulysses was getting closer to them, and the scorching light above his head was almost devouring everything. He didn’t have time to be sentimental here.

As if trying to escape from a desperate situation for a few seconds, Nemo glanced around.

Godwin was setting up a protective formation in a disorderly manner, which was delaying the time for the white light to come down. Debby tried her best to use magic to treat people who were burned by the light. The dragon spread its wings and protected its head and the entire reconnaissance team under its wings. Although they couldn’t see any hope of survival, they hadn’t given up yet.

If he chose to watch and protect himself at this moment, maybe he and Oliver could survive and go back together, but it would only be the two of them who would go back alive.

God knows how much he wanted to return to the surface right now, and Nemo had never wanted to see the sun again like he did at this very moment.

Nemo thought he wasn’t the type who had the courage to sacrifice himself. During his time as “Nemo Light”, most of the time, he was just a weak and ordinary person.

If he were still the Nemo Light who had just stepped out of Roadside Town, he would be carefree and have no strong attachment to “life” itself. He wouldn’t have any complaints if he chose to give his life for the survival of his companions.

He used to like to give up like that.

But…

Nemo turned his gaze back to Oliver’s face and forced himself to squeeze the words out of his throat. “Do what you always do. Make the right choice and try to keep everyone alive. You will, right?”

He spoke as gently as possible, looking seriously into the other person’s emerald eyes.

Oliver remained silent. His lover seemed to be aware of something. For the first time in so long, Nemo saw panic on Oliver’s face.

But he must continue.

“The teleportation array is still there, and I can use the remnants of the circuits inside. I can’t directly split the abyss and the surface, but I still remember the coordinates of Return Town. Return Town is within the Abyss.”

“Yes, you can create a spatial rift.” Oliver licked his lips nervously. His face was becoming paler.

“Spatial rifts require clear coordinates on both sides, Ollie. Now I only know the coordinates of the end point, and the force collision here is too intense, and it needs to be adjusted at any time.”

“I can help you; I tore open the space in the Great Isamel Labyrinth—”

Oliver quickly interrupted Nemo’s words, his lower lip trembling slightly. Like that would be a way to deny what was about to happen.

“Yes, but that’s when everything is calm. The current situation… Well, anyway, I will help you locate the coordinates on both sides. You just need to tear the space apart.”

Nemo continued cruelly, stroking Oliver’s cheek with one hand and wiping the dirt and sweat with trembling fingers.

“But you just said that under the influence of power, the coordinates here cannot be simply positioned…”

“Yes.”

In the ever-brighter brilliance of the destruction array, Nemo sighed.

“…But I can stay here and use myself as a coordinate.”

The world around them was collapsing rapidly, and all colors gradually faded into dazzling white, and then disappeared. Nemo could no longer maintain the calm on his face. His lover may well have guessed what he was thinking…

Oliver stood in front of him, looking fragile and in a daze. Strong power fluctuations still entangled the Rest in Peace, but it seemed that a gust of wind could turn him into dust.

This was the first time Nemo saw Oliver shed tears directly.

Oliver didn’t make a sound, tears kept dripping down his cheeks, his gaze sad and desperate. He opened his mouth slightly but failed to say anything successfully. He grabbed Nemo’s hand on his cheek and held it tightly.

“Ollie, you know who I am, and you know I won’t die. This is so that everyone can survive.”

Nemo continued with difficulty. He tried to pull out a smile, but failed.

He wouldn’t really “die” in the true sense, but no one would know what would happen next. At the very least, Nemo knew if the body was completely destroyed in this kind of place, and the “Demon King state” of the last battle with Witherspoon appeared, what happen next would not be good.

If he woke up again and was the complete Demon King.

If the “former self” plan had come to an end…

This time, Nemo didn’t raise his staff. He stretched out his right hand. The red dragon that shrank into a ball was entangled in the dark shadow and it was pulled over together with the stone platform carrying the reconnaissance team.

The black shadow penetrated into the lines of the teleportation array, forcibly adding new lines, and kept surging. After the unpleasant tearing sound, an irregular dark gap appeared out of thin air, filled with discord and chaotic powers.

“Ollie, I’ll help you hold up the passage. You need to tear the space along it. Protect the reconnaissance team and protect Debby.”

“I…”

There was finally a choking in Oliver’s voice, and his tone was soaked in despair. He still grasped Nemo’s hand tightly and pressed it to his cheek, shaking badly.

“I want to go back with you,” he said. “You can’t just leave like this, we… I can’t even stay with you, it’s not fair…”

“I know.” Nemo gritted his teeth. “I understand. I have no interest in being a saint, Ollie. I even thought that we could escape regardless of it and remember the death of our loved ones with Aurorae’s head. I don’t want to leave you… I really don’t want to.”

Nemo’s voice also began to tremble badly.

“But you survived the Withered Castle. I couldn’t forgive myself if I hid this solution now. I can’t let you continue to be a selfish and cowardly bastard.”

At least at this moment, he wanted to be the one who could stand by Oliver’s side with a clear conscience.

Oliver didn’t hesitate. Since the moment they met, he had never hesitated on matters of life and death. The gray mist surged into the cracks in the space, tearing out a stable channel in the turbulence. The red dragon shrank his body and led the still unresponsive reconnaissance team into the passage. The aura of destruction has been pressed within five meters of their heads, and it may erupt at any time.

But his Hero’s tears didn’t stop. Oliver moved his lips in vain, trying to say something. Looking at the mouth pattern, he seemed to have a lot to say.

The same goes for him, Nemo thought. This journey was far too short.

He stretched out a hand and gently and firmly pushed Oliver into the rift, adjusting the spatial magic with one hand at any time to ensure that the passage wouldn’t collapse halfway.

Seeing Oliver stepping into the safe area, he tore off the gold pendant on his chest and threw it in Oliver’s direction. “I’m very happy, Ollie. At least until now, I am still Nemo Light from Roadside Town.”

“Nemo…”

“Remember, no matter what happens afterwards, I…”

At that moment, the white light poured down, and Nemo didn’t have time to finish speaking. The explosion was approaching, and he quickly merged the rift in the space in front of him.

Then he was stunned for a few seconds by the empty air in front of him.

“Ollie,” he called subconsciously, to no response.

The energy from the closing of the spatial rift was scattered uncontrollably. The original explosion that was less than a minute away seemed to have advanced ahead of schedule. Nemo continued to adjust the spatial magic to maintain the stability of the channel.

It was a lot quieter here all of a sudden.

Nemo finally grasped the staff in his hand and began to tremble uncontrollably.

This time he really learned to fear, and it didn’t feel good at all.

Finally, he got rid of his bad habit of giving up. Now, he didn’t want to “die” alone, he didn’t want this feeling to disappear, and he didn’t want to give up his life as a human being.

But he probably won’t have a chance to continue anymore.

He had mustered up the courage to make a choice, but now fear was about to chew him to pieces.

All along, Nemo always felt that the word “love” was too heavy. He never really said it, and at most replaced it with “like”—like, interest, trust, tacit understanding. Everything accumulated through their shared experience and eventually turned into a heavy love.

Oliver had never let him down, even in the end. The person he loves didn’t stay stubborn because of a breakdown and didn’t seek destruction capriciously because of loss. Oliver cooperated perfectly with his actions.

He actually knew long ago that no one in this world could ever replace his Hero. Not now, and not ever in the future.

I should have said it sooner. Nemo closed his eyes amid the roar that shook heaven and earth.

“…No matter what happens afterwards, I will always love you,” he said, as if talking to himself, and then let out a small sigh.

In the next second, the world was filled with only pure white light.

In the temporary space passage.

Oliver flew to the front with floating magic, using all his strength to split the razor-sharp turbulence. From time to time, a fish that the net missed would rub against his cheek, leaving a bloody gash, but Oliver seemed to have lost the sensation of feeling pain. His movements were getting faster.

The dragon dragged the stone platform forward in the calm area behind him.

Godwin suffered severe burns, and Debby turned her back to the direction of advance, holding back her sobs while treating her own bloody wounds.

She raised her eyes inadvertently.

Behind them, the end of the dark space passage began to twist and collapse. The turbulent current surged frantically, and then was filled with stones that were originally there.

The girl stopped her treatment, covered her mouth, and forcibly swallowed a sob.

“Mr—Mr. Ramon,” she warned in a hoarse voice. “The passage is collapsing. We need to hurry. It means that the spellcaster has…”

She couldn’t go on.

In the end, Debby Light didn’t hold back the choking in her voice, crying loudly in the deep darkness.

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The author has something to say:

…

……………

……..Please don’t hit me.

A little abuse is good for you… A little abuse is good for you (……

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Kinky Thoughts:

NEMO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 234: Ominous

Aurorae really wanted to kill them.

The murderous aura came. It wasn’t sharp but was incomparably firm and heavy, like the cold rain mixed with ice on a winter’s day.

The dragon breath stone flying props were extremely valuable, and there was heavy surface magic condensed in them. In this kind of place full of abyssal magic fluctuations, it was like a small campfire lit in the dark night. The mages could barely suppress the aura of one by adding layers of shields to it, and always paid attention to adjustments. Carrying two at the same time was tantamount to a nightmare.

It wasn’t unreasonable for Aurorae to choose it as the first target of attack—without its support, the dragon couldn’t take off so close to the bottom of the Abyss. Now the difficulty of their return to the surface had jumped several times.

Nemo clenched the staff in his hand, subconsciously took a step forward, and guarded the reconnaissance team behind him.

Things were a lot clearer now. Telaranea once mentioned that this generation of demons was extremely dangerous, and that was “what he and his companions saw with their own eyes”. Considering that the two superior demons weren’t the types who liked to engage in demon parties on the surface, the “companion” from the mouth of the Sage of the Abyss was most likely Aurorae.

According to his contact with Telaranea, it seems that the Sage of the Abyss obviously didn’t have any so-called “sense of responsibility.” If he wanted to find out who was the mastermind behind this huge plan between the two of them, Aurorae clearly fit the role better.

The shadow shield rose up shielding everyone behind it. Nemo raised his head slightly and looked in the direction of where Aurorae’s voice came from.

Looking at Aurorae’s reaction just now, the ancient demon slayer decided to take action after the leader of the Mooney Sect proposed to spy on the Demon King.

This made no sense at all.

No superior demon would want to shelter the Demon King, and now Nemo was keenly aware of this. Not to mention whether their power was qualified or not, their only recorded affection for the Demon King was “fear”. In all the information he had come into contact with, there had never been records of a Demon King’s “subordinate”, “partners”, “relatives”, or “friends”. But if he thought about it from another perspective…

If Aurorae wanted to stop the expedition from the beginning, why did he do his best to train Flint Lopez into a powerful swordsman enough to kill the Demon King?

If Aurorae had always hated the surface, why did he kill those compatriots who wreaked havoc on the surface for centuries?

If Aurorae was on the side of the surface, why did he spend more than ten years destroying the teleportation array, and now he wanted to obliterate the surface reconnaissance team here?

[Your body is rotting at the bottom of the abyss, isn’t it? Only this piece of flesh can still barely “move”. If I fail to provide an eyeball every month, you’ll lose your energy source, and even this piece of flesh will rot.]

Of course, Nemo remembered the information he had overheard when he was at Clementine Academy. Telaranea didn’t exaggerate.

As a superior demon, Aurorae’s state could even be described as “dying.” At least at this distance, Nemo could clearly feel— In terms of magic strength alone, Aurorae wasn’t as good as the gray parrot carrying a piece of flesh. He must have consumed a lot of the flesh that Telaranea provided him.

The grey parrot could still draw strength from its own body, and Aurorae’s body has already…

Yes, leaving aside all doubts, Nemo also didn’t think Aurorae had the ability to keep them here. Even if he was limited by cognition and his strength wasn’t complete, he didn’t think that Aurorae would be a match for him.

But because of this, they need to be more cautious—Aurorae wasn’t stupid enough to come to his death empty-handed.

The members of the escorts obviously had similar ideas.

Godwin clenched his Breaking Dawn while Debby held her breath. Oliver exhaled lightly, and the gray mist surged on the soles of his feet. Whether it was the Laddist or the Moonies, the knights all put up a defensive posture.

The first person to take action was the leader of the Mooney Sect.

There wasn’t much time left for the other party to react. The old man squeezed out a twisted smile on his face that could hardly be identified and raised his thin hand. Countless spells surrounded the cobalt blue cone of light, and the speed was like the blade of a guillotine that has lost its hanging rope. The beautiful blue brilliance broke through the darkness and poked straight in the direction of the sound.

They hit something that fragilely shattered. It wasn’t a pure magic shield, and Aurorae’s body wasn’t that strong.

After the dull noise, the color of the cone line that was like the evening sky shattered into powder. A loud rumbling noise rose from under his feet, and the world in the dark was rudely torn in half. The ground shook frantically as smoke and debris poured down like a waterfall. In the collision of hard objects, there were countless sticky soft noses mixed in.

Like a thick soup boiling, the bubbles in it burst one by one.

The round milky white eyes of the lantern blind bugs were opening one by one.

Unlike before, at this moment they were close enough to the reconnaissance team, and those milky white eyeballs that emit milky white light were no longer similar to stars, but closer to the size of ordinary ponds on the surface.

The mountain-like lantern blind bugs uncharacteristically somehow managed to get stuck in a large crevice that was too narrow for them. Dozens of giants struggled hard, twisting their stout legs together as they pushed the rift on either side.

The lantern blind bugs were extremely slow and wouldn’t take the initiative to attack or even learn how to resist. They were so stupid that they only understood basic survival instincts, but on the strength level, they were real superior demons.

Their only talent was defense; they were born with a strong skin attached to defensive magic that was almost unbreakable. With the starry sky in disarray and fluctuating, even Nemo couldn’t weaken them.

The demon slayer stood alone in front of the glowing giants, and the white eyeballs without pupils behind him projected a moonlight-like brilliance. Aurorae took off the helmet of the armor, and his long gray-white hair floated in the wind. He looked blankly at the reconnaissance team struggling in the collapse, so he turned his back to the blind insect race, standing alone in the void.

Aurorae didn’t even need to take action by himself. The collapse of the big crack in front of him and the squeezing of the lantern blind bugs were enough to be considered waves of destructive attacks.

He didn’t know if it was his own illusion, but Nemo felt those orange-red eyes looked a bit sad.

Godwin’s first reaction was to guard the two large teleportation arrays. The beautiful brilliance of the Breaking Dawn lit up. His speed was extremely fast, leaving a string of swarming warm-colored light. The holy sword could easily cut off the stone platform where the teleportation arrays were. Debbie instantly matched his action within a second.

Before Nemo could make a move, the mercenary woman turned her rod in her palm a few times.

A light green light lit up on the edge of the stone platform. The entire platform was held firmly in the air by the wind, dexterously avoiding the falling boulders.

“Go ahead. I’ll stabilize here!” Debby’s voice was sharp and steady. The knights spontaneously set up a defensive formation beside her, and the mages in the team, led by the leaders of the two religions, quickly smashed the huge boulders that couldn’t be avoided.

The red-brown dragon was mad for some reason. From the moment the dragon breath stone prop was destroyed, its breathing rate began to become abnormal. Right now, it was frantically spewing red fireballs with cursed halos at the enemy. Regardless of returning to its original size, the dragon protected the reconnaissance team on its neck and rudely kicked the lantern blind bugs’ outstretched legs.

Unlike the Preceptor Bishop, who was obsessed with protecting his followers, the leader of the Mooney Sect had no intention of defending himself.

It could be seen that the old man before wasn’t arrogant and presumptuous. His strong murderous spirit and fighting aura gradually spread. Blue spells bombarded the lantern blind bugs that crowded around. Although it didn’t substantially hurt these rough-skinned giants, each of his spells hit the pupilless eyeballs directly.

The impact and pain of the bombardment made the lantern blind bugs wailed, and it slowly squeezed its limbs crooked and staggered indiscriminately, failing to crush the stone platform.

Nemo and Oliver took the opportunity to step into the void and rushed towards Aurorae.

Relying on the Demon King’s ability, Nemo tried to communicate with the surrounding lantern blind bugs mentally, hoping to stop this troublesome battlefield that was being created by the monsters’ limbs.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t get through.

Those things were so stupid that they had no thoughts at all. They usually react only to their own kind at most. How could Aurorae manipulate them?

Wait, the same kind…

Absurd conjectures flashed by, and Nemo almost dropped his staff. He subconsciously cast down the dark shadows and bound the huge limbs of the bugs together. His lover took the opportunity to rush in front of him and used his Rest and Peace to slash against Aurorae’s giant sword.

Sparks splashed everywhere.

“Flint Lopez’s son and nephew.” Aurorae’s voice was very soft. He glanced at Godwin, who was attacking a lantern blind worm with his sword from the corner of his eyes. Every word was dipped in hatred. “Today is really a holiday.”

“Mr. Vance.” Oliver’s voice was polite and detached. His movements didn’t stop, and the Rest in Peace stabbed in different angles. “Please tell those things to stop attacking. If this is directed at me and Godwin, at least spare the reconnaissance team.”

“Aurorae.” The demon slayer spoke his name slowly. “Unfortunately, this isn’t for you. Ah, but one of them is more special… Mr. Light.”

Nemo, who had just bound the two lantern blind bugs who were trying to crush the reconnaissance team with their bodies, couldn’t help but stiffen his back when he heard Aurorae speak his name.

“I can understand Telaranea’s dissatisfaction with the Demon King.” The demon slayer waved his giant sword skillfully, shaking off the sticky mist. “But as a creature of the same kind, why do you stand on the side of the surface?”

Godwin’s sword movement paused.

Nemo didn’t know how to answer.

Aurorae obviously believed that the one wandering at the bottom of the Abyss at this moment was the Demon King, and his certainty even made Nemo a little unsure of his identity. The mystery he faced was too large and complex, or rather, he couldn’t bear to reach out to the glimmer of hope that he “wasn’t actually the Demon King”…

“I don’t know what you are talking about,” he responded dryly, directing the dark shadow to attack Aurorae.

“Able to withstand the Demon King’s power, the attack that carries the Demon King’s aura.” Ignoring the dark shadows that penetrated into his flesh, a blood-red glow floated on the surface of Aurorae’s giant sword, directly slashing at the Rest in Peace. “Telaranea can do the former, but you obviously could do even better. A normal born demon cannot do this.”

The red light intensified. The ominous brilliance spread from the giant sword to Aurorae’s body, and the aura felt a bit familiar.

It was abyssal magic that Ann activated during the Black Chapter test. Nemo remembered very clearly. It burned one’s own flesh, squeezing their own potential, but Ann was still able to recover. Aurorae’s body shouldn’t allow him to use such a dangerous spell.

Oliver was strong. The gray mist almost solidified as it danced around him. Compared with Aurorae, Oliver, dressed in black armor, looked more like a demon, but the combat experience accumulated by the demon slayer for thousands of years was so terrifying that it resolved all of Oliver’s attacks easily.

Not to mention that the limbs wielded by the lantern blind bugs kept interfering with Oliver’s movements. At this moment, coupled with the power of Aurorae burning flesh, the leader of Tumbleweed lost his advantage.

Godwin was still fighting, and the amazing speech of the demon slayer obviously disturbed his mind. Nemo could feel the change in Godwin’s movements—the leader of Horizon no longer turned his back unconcernedly this way.

Indeed, it had come to this, so there was no need for Aurorae to lie.

“I don’t remember anything.” Nemo’s voice was hoarse. “We’re just here to investigate the teleportation array—”

“The fact you let that bug from the Mooney Sect approach the Demon King is enough to prove everything.”

Aurorae sneered. The spell that stimulated his potential was devouring his body. The demon killer’s skin was cracking like Ann’s. Blood was slowly oozing out, but he didn’t seem to care.

“If it weren’t for you, if it weren’t for Lopez, they wouldn’t be still struggling now, thinking they had caught hope. It’s better to die obediently. Come here, Light. It’s not too late to return to the Abyss.”

“Talbott Vance.”

Until now, Nemo didn’t intend to hide it anymore. He simply raised his voice while sharply shielding Oliver’s back with his shadow shield, flicking away the sharp tip of a blind bug’s foot. The uncomfortable scent from the ground was getting closer, something was wrong, but Nemo couldn’t catch the sense of disconnection in this moment.

“You don’t want anyone to touch the Demon King? To say that you let the strongest person on the surface approach the Demon King, you did a much better job than I did—as Flint Lopez’s teacher, you personally trained the person who killed the Demon King.”

Aurorae smiled. He laughed unnecessarily on this chaotic battlefield, and the laughter sounded extremely sad.

“It seems you really don’t remember anything, Light,” he said calmly, his voice full of ashen death. “But that’s okay.”

“Since the Demon King sent you to the surface, he must have his intentions. You are destined to return here. If I guessed correctly, your power should have begun to be disturbed.”

Nemo held his breath, his heart sank.

“I will say it one last time.” Aurorae even sounded as if he was at peace with himself. “Return to the Abyss. Let the humans die here, and I can take you away.”

“Don’t listen to his nonsense!” Oliver yelled. “There’s no such thing as destiny!”

“No, Ollie, that’s not the problem.”

Nemo was very calm, and it was precisely because of his calm that worry made his entire body tingle. The underground “Ulysses” was attracted by the nose and was getting closer…

He suddenly realized the source of that sense of violation.

“…That guy is stalling for time!”

Using the slow-moving but difficult-to-kill lantern blind bugs as a tool, he burned his own flesh to create a stalemate with Oliver; even if the battle fell into a stalemate, realizing that he couldn’t win decisively just with himself and was exhausting his life-supported flesh, Aurorae didn’t seem at all flustered.

Their enemy was too calm and even deliberately talked to them, and for some reason, he firmly believed that it was impossible for them to leave the abyss.

[Since they claim that the Demon King will not come to the surface, why does an expedition exist?]

The followers of the Abyssal Church once said this.

But how did the surface race determine that “the Demon King would not come to the surface” before? Why would they feel comfortable building a large teleportation array so close to the bottom of the Abyss?

The dangerous aura belonging to the surface magic suddenly pierced into the tangled abyssal magic and quickly became stronger.

The Demon King who only survived by instinct, and Aurorae who didn’t want humans to go to the bottom of the Abyss now, but at this time had no scruples to make loud noises to attract the Demon King…

“Debby!” Nemo roared so loudly for the first time that he almost tore his vocal cords. “Take the teleportation array up, now! Ollie, Lopez, get out of here and try to go up—”

“It’s too late.” Aurorae raised the corner of his mouth. “I’m really getting old. I can’t believe I haven’t managed to kill even a single one.”

“Farewell forever, everyone.”

---

The author has something to say:

Red Dragon: I was about to get off work soon!! Now, at the last second, I have to risk my life and work overtime!!! (Angry)

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<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 233: Ulysses

The special animal hair rope had a sharp hook attached to the top. The reinforcement spell was embroidered on a two-finger wide band of fine cloth, which wrapped the rope tightly.

The sudden contact of the gray parrot startled Nemo. That caused the great Demon King’s hand to slip, and he almost fell off the cliff.

Fortunately, the bottom of his boots were attached to a floating array. Nemo tugged at the guide rope in his hand in horror. While continuing to descend, he cautiously tried to establish a short-term spiritual connection with Bagelmaurus.

As long as the distance wasn’t too far, it could communicate with Nemo without using a crystal. However, it was just that they had rarely been separated for too long, and the parrot was usually too awkward that it had never actively communicated. After all, the success or failure of a spiritual connection was a mutual matter. If Bagelmaurus was unwilling to accept it, Nemo didn’t really have much of a choice.

However, after the gray parrot screamed in his head, Nemo really fell down.

[What’s going on?] He responded anxiously in his mind, almost speaking out in shock. [There’s a demon seal in that place?!]

[I don’t know what’s going on! In short, the situation is terrible. We are stuck in the Pale Hive facing a bunch of crazy and hungry demons! Cross is wounded, and Dylan, well, I don’t see what his plans are, but he doesn’t look very good either. What to do?! What to do?! There are too many of them that even my flesh will be eaten—] The parrot’s mental fluctuation was like it was crying.

[Where is your body?] Ignoring his beating heart, Nemo forcibly kept his thoughts calm. [Bagelmaurus, remember, you’re a superior demon. Let go of the momentum completely and suppress them! Even if the opposite side is dizzy from hunger, they must have an instinct to survive.]

[My body is injured, listen, injured! This shithole is terribly cold and completely unsuitable for me… Further down is the bottom of the Abyss. All those who dare to wander there are monsters or deadly lunatics. Even if my body comes here, I can’t generate any momentum with my injuries. Not to mention, the time to get Cross and the others out in one piece, I might attract even worse guys myself!]

At present, his side was still calm, and Nemo thought quickly. Considering Jesse’s identity, this was indeed not a battlefield suitable for him. He could take advantage of the two members of Horizon to temporarily protect the team while he and Oliver teleport themselves through the rift in space.

Nemo subconsciously went to find out the location of the gray parrot.

Then he was shocked to find that its position was like a small boat covered by sea fog, and it was almost impossible to locate it.

The positional reactions of countless demons were stuffed into his head, and his starry sky became blurred due to an unknown factor, and it was constantly fluctuating.

The Abyss was too wide, and the other team moved in the exact opposite direction to them. Even the aura of a giant dragon would be completely swallowed by the atmosphere near the bottom of the Abyss. Countless huge superior demons were close at hand, and the aura was as strong as some kind of thick slime. They were all mixed together in one place, constantly changing and twisting.

If exploring on the surface was like passing through a shallow clear river to pick up shiny pebbles lying at the bottom, at this moment, his arms were plunging into a cold, bottomless swamp.

Even if Bagelmaurus was there, he couldn’t accurately perceive its position at this moment. The terrain in the depths of the Abyss had been slowly changing. Experienced commanders would memorize and calculate based on the coordinates. No one would know the exact spatial coordinates of the Pale Hive.

Calm down. Nemo pinched the palm of his hand.

Not to mention Jesse Dylan, his own state wasn’t right. What really sent chills down Nemo’s spine was that he didn’t notice the slightest abnormality before trying to locate the gray parrot.

But he couldn’t panic at a time like this.

[Believe in Jesse Dylan. That guy is not the type who is willing to sacrifice himself. He definitely has his own plans. Protect yourself, Bagelmaurus.] Nemo gave the order neatly, trying to make himself sound confident.

[Really?]

[Really.]

The gray parrot sobbed for a few seconds, and the panic in its mind decreased. [Then… Then I’ll protect Cross at most, and I won’t care about anything else!]

[Please.]

At the moment of disconnecting the mental connection, Nemo quickly concentrated all his energy on the magic formation at the bottom of the boot. In the dimness, he loosened the gleaming guide rope and rushed directly to Oliver’s side above.

“Nemo?” Oliver, who was nervously guarding, blinked.

“The situation here is wrong,” Nemo whispered as he glanced at Godwin, who was a little higher. “I can’t feel Bagelmaurus’ position anymore.”

Oliver’s expression instantly became serious. “When did it start? “

“It wasn’t a problem when we separated just now, but now… In short, it’s the last few days. Not to mention, Mr. Cross and the others were attacked by a demon seal. The situation is very bad. I thought it was strange before. I specifically suppressed my own and Bagelmaurus’ auras, yet Witherspoon accurately found them. Now I’m sure that someone is up to no good.”

As he said, Nemo looked at his feet.

Unlike another reconnaissance team, their goal was in the Rift Valley. The wide chasm led directly to the bottom of the Abyss, and the teleportation array was built on a bulge on one side of the chasm. It was extremely dark in the chasm and the magic lamp could only illuminate a distance of about five meters around them.

Although the sixth set of large teleportation arrays couldn’t be seen, in theory they weren’t far from it.

There was still calm and cold silence in the Rift Valley. Learning that his companion was struggling in the distant darkness, the current calm made Nemo’s scalp numb.

A thought that made his stomach twitch crawled through his heart—Was this a trap set by his “former self”? The bait was laid on calm and peaceful grass, while the traps were being polished, just waiting for the screams to pierce the peace.

[Don’t peer into the Abyss.]

Not long ago, Telaranea specifically warned them about this.

Will his own fluctuations in the starry sky be related to the “other Demon King” at the bottom of the abyss?

“Okay, then I’ll help you guard the end of the team.” Knowing that he wasn’t immune to abyssal spells like Nemo, Oliver didn’t propose to go together this time. He simply motioned to Godwin above and slipped down. “Be careful, Nemo.”

“Stop the team. I’ll go down and have a look first.” Nemo pursed his lips and made a quick decision. “Not to mention Dylan, Mr. Cross is a very cautious person. If even he has trouble fighting it, there must be—or once existed—some kind of very powerful abyssal magic over there.”

Nemo didn’t delay. He let go of his speed and descended. Within five minutes, he arrived at the sixth large teleportation array.

His hunch was right.

The rich magic fluctuations of the abyss were cleverly concealed, and a dark shadow circled above the teleportation array with bad intentions. If Mr. Cross and the others really survived this, then the other reconnaissance team would be 80% worse off in the face of hungry giant demons.

Not to mention humans, this thing wasn’t something that even a dragon could easily deal with.

And…

Nemo’s fingertips touched the violent power, and in the next second it was docile like a sleepy cat.

…This power undoubtedly belonged to him.

From the degree of decay of the spell, this spell should have been activated more than twenty years ago. When it was set in advance, the start time was just after the previous expedition.

This wasn’t unexpected. He closed his eyes in pain.

The expeditionary army that crusaded against Ulysses was wiped out four times, and the Demon King almost slaughtered the legendary Tin Soldiers during the fifth. It wasn’t surprising that two sets of underground teleportation arrays had deadly traps.

If the other reconnaissance team, together with their companions, really died as a result…

Making sure that this spell had not been manipulated by anyone. Nemo trembled and took a few deep breaths, tightening his fingers. The huge and ominous spell broke in an instant, and out-of-control forces surged in all directions. They hit the nearby cliff, causing stone shavings and dust to pour on their faces.

But Nemo wasn’t distracted from removing them. He leaned down and brushed his pale and slender fingers across the dull lines of the spell. Except for the fresh curse that was still attached to the magic array and was aimed at the magic array itself, there was nothing else left.

The old power that belonged to the Demon King, and the fresh magic that belonged to strangers. Nemo frowned—If the “former self” just wanted to obtain information and then destroy the visitors, there would be no need to seal a large number of demons in the Pale Hive. Holding such great power in his hand, there wasn’t a need to cleverly use the terrain.

It seemed that the stranger not only wanted to stop the expedition, he or she also very much didn’t want the reconnaissance team to spread the information.

If Witherspoon’s affairs were also the result of this force’s immediate intervention… Those puppet birds flying to Return Town may not be able to successfully reach their destination. Even if they arrive, the information inside may not be original.

If he was that person, that was something he would definitely do. Nemo calculated almost coldly from the bottom of his heart.

If their opponents were really cautious to that point, then even at this moment, someone should be spying on them.

Compared to Mr. Cross, who was almost a dead end, it was calm here, and it wasn’t surprising that there was no summoning formation associated with it. Unlike at the Pale Hive, the terrain here couldn’t block the reconnaissance team. If the survivors reluctantly obtain information and bring it back to the surface, even after studying the sixth teleportation array, the conclusion that would be drawn would be nothing more than “there was a remnant of malice left behind by the last Demon King here”.

After all, the other team shouldn’t have Jesse Dylan as a variable on their team, and this team shouldn’t have been able to learn the status of distant companions.

Mixed with false information, calculating the part that may be destroyed, the surface races would have gotten an “ordinary and not very successful” reconnaissance result, and the scholars would be misled by wrong data, spending years—even decades—calculating a completely useless puzzle.

Such sophisticated destruction required time, which their opponents could use to destroy again.

But why? Why stop the expedition on the surface?

Nemo couldn’t figure it out, and he didn’t plan to spend too long thinking about it here alone. The situation was too weird. Now the reconnaissance team could quickly obtain information about this array, and then they could ensure that this part of the team would leave safely by the dragon.

As for the Pale Hive, they could only temporarily pin their hopes on Jesse Dylan.

If it weren’t for the fragile mental connection of this place and the extreme consumption of attention, he would simply want to ask Bagelmaurus to provide constant updates.

Nemo’s efforts were almost successful.

The reconnaissance team obtained the information safely, and even the Mooney Sect, which kept the dragon breath stone flying props, had begun to dismantle the magic props that protected them, ready to mount the red-brown dragon that looked too overburdened.

It was so close.

A tremor erupted, like a heavy mountain hitting the ground. Something huge moved in swarms beneath the Abyss and a soft glow lit up, but the things it illuminated was extremely disgusting.

In the void below the huge crack, a group of huge monsters moved slowly. The monsters had four long legs, similar to insects. They were neatly embedded on both sides of a giant body in a standard cross shape, each as thick as Bagelmaurus’ body. The gray body in the middle was decorated with milky white eyes, densely packed, flashing milky white light.

It looked like a star in the night sky.

An ominous premonition wrapped around his ankles, and Nemo swallowed.

“Lantern blind bugs.” The leader of the Mooney Sect, who was about to take out the dragon breath stone prop, stopped. “They are migrating.”

“Yes. Don’t worry, Nemo. Although they are superior demons, they have extremely low intelligence and their personality… Well, they are closer to plants than animals.” As if seeing Nemo’s unnaturalness, Debby took the initiative to explain.

Nemo smiled weakly and didn’t respond. Of course he knew what the lantern blind bugs were. These things rarely migrated.

There were many corpses of superior demons at the bottom of the Abyss. They fed on the magical miasma and wouldn’t move for decades or even hundreds of years. Although they would change places occasionally, but…

Nemo had a very, very bad feeling. In the dark, there seemed to be a pair of cold arms around his neck, and something was approaching.

“Have you taken care of it over there?” Nemo rarely urged in a drum-like heartbeat. “The lantern blind bugs are migrating, which is not a good thing. We’d better get out of here quickly.”

Yes, from the Gravity Maze to here, things have gone too smoothly.

It was like someone planned everything in advance, expecting them to die or leave quickly. Regardless of whether the motivation was good or bad, Nemo decided to take advantage of this as much as possible. However…

The older leader of the Mooney Sect took a deep inhale and put the prop down very slowly. He took off the hood that he had been wearing on his head and revealed an old face that was severely disfigured.

“I remember this feeling,” he said dreamily. “This sense of oppression…”

The lantern blind bugs walked away with star-like eyes, and the darkness under the cracks seemed empty again.

But the sense of emptiness was particularly disturbing.

“It’s Ulysses.” The old man spoke in a hoarse voice with an odd tone.

“Listen, Laddists, Preceptor Bishop, right? We’d better cooperate… This is unprecedented and precious information.”

“Ulysses is dead.” Nemo gritted his teeth and couldn’t help but interrupt.

“We’re not prepared enough, and the number of people is too small.” Oliver, on the other hand, made a realistic step and blocked the way, stopping the old man in his tracks as he walked towards the edge of the rock platform. “It’s better to make sure we take all the available information out first, don’t you think?”

“I agree with Mr. Ramon.” Preceptor Felix had a solemn expression. “I do not question your meaning, Lord Karapan. Even if your feelings aren’t wrong, this is really…”

“I can never forget.” The leader of the Mooney Sect let out a hoarse laugh. “I will never forget how it tore apart my soldiers… Ah, Ulysses. I’m absolutely right. If you want to go, you can go Laddists. It’s just a little closer, just a little closer so I can see it with my own eyes… At the beginning, I saw its head cut off and taken out, but now it’s still alive. Is there anything more absurd than this?”

The one-eyed dwarves chatted and discussed, squeezing to the side of Mooney Sect with interest.

“…Then please give us the flying props.” The Preceptor Bishop stretched out his hand solemnly, and the red-brown dragon nodded vigorously in agreement.

“No, let’s just take a moment and take a look down a little bit. Since you don’t want to go down, I can only trouble you to wait for us for a while… I didn’t survive the last expedition only to simply die here.”

He clenched the dragon breath stone prop in his hand.

“It’s not that I don’t believe you, but it would be unfortunate if these young men stole it and tried to escape. Aren’t they Black Chapters?”

“Lord Karapan.” Preceptor Felix’s voice began to stiffen. “Pardon my rudeness, but if you’re unable to return—”

“If I can escape it the first time, I can escape it a second,” the old man responded indifferently.

As his voice just fell, a familiar aura flashed by, and a very fine ray of light passed through the dragon breath stone prop. Then it quickly turned black, decayed, and turned into powder in front of everyone, taking away the only hope of a quick retreat.

“No.” A voice sounded from the darkness far away, full of disgust. “You can’t.”

“You will die here.”

Nemo recognized the voice.

The ill-intentioned voyeur finally appeared. That voice undoubtedly belonged to Talbott Vance—or rather, “Demon Slayer” Aurorae.

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The author has something to say:

One of the two people who survived the expedition was Flint, and the other was him XD.

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<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 232: A Desperate Situation

Normally, the expeditionary force would only use six sets of arrays to travel back and forth. However, taking into account unexpected situations, people built a seventh set of hidden arrays close to the bottom of the Abyss. Although the crusade battlefield was usually far away from the sixth set of arrays, the Demon King wouldn’t hunt down the remnant soldiers from a long distance. They were almost impossible to destroy. All races on the surface had made backup plans just in case.

This pair of hidden arrays was quite far from the sixth set of arrays. Since they were repaired, they hadn’t been officially used.

As the reconnaissance team approached the bottom of the abyss, the temperature dropped rapidly. Adrian’s fingertips were cold, and the material of the metal bow in his hand seemed to turn into ice.

Unlike the lively scene before, the scene in front of him became quieter. Except for a few small groups of small demons that glowed blue in the dark and were the size of fireflies, there weren’t many other signs of life.

At the behest of Commander Rugo, the reconnaissance team turned on a few more magic lights. The milky white halo reflected people’s numb faces, and the knight commander tilted his head slightly—Jesse, who was standing next to him, had blue and white lips, and his color had faded a lot. Mr. Dylan’s breathing didn’t even bring out too much white steam and he was as cold as a corpse.

In the last half of a day, the blond young man who used to be extremely loud didn’t say a word. He moved forward unhappily, not even eating much.

However, Adrian wouldn’t be surprised by this. The dry food distributed by the reconnaissance team was greasy and tasteless, with a faint fishy smell, and the taste wasn’t good. Even Adrian himself, who was never picky, took some time to completely accept this kind of dry food for the march.

Adrian pondered for a moment. He touched the honey candy used to replenish his strength in his pocket, and then pulled out a wooden cup from the goat’s back. The light of a mixing spell flashed, and a cup of sweet honey water was stuffed into Jesse’s hand.

“I also have a piece here. The last two pieces, one for each person, it’s fair.” Jesse held the cup in both hands and finally opened his mouth. His voice was a bit hoarse, and he didn’t mean to lower his head to drink when he saw his movements.

“I know.” Adrian’s tone was steady. “I’m used to eating dry food, and I don’t need sweetness to keep my hopes up.”

Jesse chuckled softly and slowly pursed his lips. “That’s so sweet.”

Adrian didn’t answer, nor did he hide the faint worry on his face.

“It’s okay, it’s almost over,” Jesse continued.

Indeed. Adrian looked ahead—there was a pale mountain-like object full of eerie hollows in front of him. As long as they dived down the right pathway, they would reach the end of this journey.

But he always had a bad feeling. When the team really set foot on the low mountain called the “Pale Hive”, Adrian glanced at the dry corpses lying sideways on the edge of several caves, and the ominous feeling finally reached its peak.

As a former high-level member of the Laddism Church, the former Chief Justice of the Knight of Judgement was very familiar with the knowledge related to the expedition. Adrian knew that they would pass through the narrow and twisted passage, all the way down, to the natural stone platform carved with a teleportation array in the hollow under the mountain.

The destination was close at hand, but some kind of uncomfortable feeling made his hair stand upside down.

It was hard to say what it felt like. After a long time on the battlefield and countless brushes with death, Adrian was particularly sensitive to the taste of malice. That wasn’t just intuition. There was definitely something there.

He didn’t hesitate, and directly issued a warning signal, and the team stopped obediently.

“What’s the matter?” Not finding any enemies who came to attack, Commander Rugo narrowed his huge eyes.

“Before entering the cave, please check the magic remnants nearby.” Adrian proposed seriously. “Something’s wrong here.”

“This is close to the bottom of the Abyss. Of course something is wrong,” the fanatic mage spat out, despite quickly taking out his magic props used for inspection, though his expression was extremely impatient. “There’s indeed magic residue here. As far as I feel, the residue intensity is normal, and nothing worth taking note of.”

Adrian didn’t intend to put any value on his words. He watched the reaction of the props in the mage’s hand intently.

The mage rolled his eyes, and this time made an illusion isolation spell and then carefully began to test it. “…There’s no problem. As I said, the residual strength is within the normal range.”

“Well, alright. Keep going.” Rugo circled the crystal ball filled with several liquids in the mage’s hand.

“I suggest returning to the surface now, or meeting with another team in advance. In this way, at least the data of the fifth set of arrays can be preserved.” Adrian didn’t move.

“Reason?” Rugo exhaled impatiently. “That human judgment is correct, this is normal.”

The destination of this tedious journey was right in front of them, and everyone held dissatisfaction in their eyes.

“First, the sand here leaves no trace of demons passing by.”

Adrian leaned down, grabbed the snow-white and delicate grains of sand under his feet, and stared at the dwarf Rugo with his dark brown eyes.

“According to records, there are rarely demon activities in the Pale Hive. Even if there are occasional demons passing by here, most of them do so to forage, and their predatory actions will certainly leave traces. You see, all the demon corpses over there have retained the posture of fleeing, and the corpses are intact, with no traces of having been eaten. “

“As I said, this place is very close to the bottom of the Abyss,” the mage interjected unhappily. “In addition to the dangerous monsters that we all know, there are also many strange wanderers. Who knows if there will be any special species. Yes, you have a point. But these corpses—”

The mage waved his hand, and several insect puppets used for identification quickly flew back, showing the reaction of the crystal placed in their abdomens.

“—The time of death is very close, within a few years. No matter what the danger was, it didn’t continue. The cave is clean. Isn’t it precisely for this information that we are here, Lord Cross?”

The “lord” was full of sarcasm.

“Second, the same weak magic fluctuations may be naturally attenuated, or they may be leaked from a huge, suppressed power.” Adrian sighed, “I personally think it’s the latter.”

“But you have no evidence.”

Indeed, at present, people could only detect the strength of the remaining magic residue, and the specific situation could only be distinguished by experience.

“I have experienced it once. It was in a dragon breath stone mine that was artificially concealed and close to exploding. Except for the different magical attributes, it feels almost exactly the same.” Adrian took a deep breath and didn’t hesitate to uncover his scars.

“Dragon Breath Stone? The Battle of Kandal that made you lose your power? Again, no one can prove that Willard ever tried to detonate the dragon breath stone mine.”

Seeing that the other party mentioned the humiliating history of the Laddism Church, the mage’s voice became colder.

“If you’re still the ‘Shining Morning Star’, maybe we can trust you, but a scumbag who made a contract with a demon to lure his best friend to fall, just to gain power… ha.” The mage grinned, “I saw the blood mark of spiritual sacrifice on the back of your neck. The companion used to draw strength isn’t in good condition. Are you afraid?”

Adrian lowered his gaze. “In short, this is my judgment.”

“Well.” Commander Rugo tugged at his beard. “Then to be fair, let’s vote. Tumbleweed, please avoid suspicion—If anyone agrees with this gentleman and believes that we should give up and return at this juncture, please raise your hand.”

No hand was raised, and the blue dragon also made no sign.

“According to Cross, if you continue to move forward, this team may pay the price with your life. Those who are willing to take this risk and move on, or are not ready to believe, please raise your hand.”

Adrian’s gaze swept across the raised hands, then he closed his eyes. “I have nothing else to say.”

“I—I agree with you.” The team began to move forward again, and the gray parrot leaned over, muttering with a leash around its neck. “But I can’t say anything useful. Usually there are bad things nearby, and the roots of my tail will twitch and go numb. I can’t use the root of my tail as evidence. Hey, Cross—”

“Thank you,” the knight commander whispered, carefully continuing the guard work.

Jesse looked at him in silence, putting the empty cup back into the bag on the back of the goat.

Counting the tragedy of his best friend Cahill, this wasn’t the first time this kind of thing has happened. Adrian Cross seemed to never learn to play dumb and muddle through, even if he could predict the ending waiting for him.

How stupid.

Jesse held back the increasingly severe growing cramps in his guts and moved quietly through the winding passage. It didn’t take long for him to stop unexpectedly and begin to admire the faces full of fear in front of him.

It turned out that Adrian Cross was correct.

At the moment their feet stepped onto the stone platform, a terrifying tsunami of black magic power rushed down, enveloping the entire stone platform. That power was extremely domineering and corrosive—Adrian propped up the light shield almost immediately, but the few scouts who were too far away didn’t move fast enough, and they were eroded by the black magic in an instant, leaving nothing behind.

Living flesh and blood was torn apart before his very eyes and then completely swallowed by the squirming black shadow that not even any blood or ashes were left behind.

They didn’t even have time to let out a final scream.

“Dylan, can you hold on?” Almost biting his lower lip, Adrian desperately strengthened the light shield and then turned to look at his magic provider, Jesse Dylan, standing there quietly, with a weak smile still hanging at the corner of his mouth.

“Call me Jesse. I can hold on.” As if all the tragedies in front of him had nothing to do with him, the blond young man responded with a chuckle.

“All mages are on alert. Push that force away!” Commander Rugo barely maintained his composure. “I need to analyze this—”

“Compound formation.” Resisting the black magic squeezing in from all sides, Adrian immediately interjected. “I’m sure.”

People looked at him in silence.

“Since the surface shows that the status of this teleportation array is normal, the teleportation array should not be completely destroyed.” The knight took a long breath, his tone calm. “This attack magic was written by the caster himself; It’s more like a… trial.”

Or rather, a condescending trial. Adrian swallowed this evaluation back as he focused his magic like a mage. The thing behind this magic was desperate.

The feeling given to him by the other party was close to that of a child who just wanted to determine whether there were ants in the ant nest by pouring water into it. If this power was changed into another form, it would be enough to destroy them immediately, but it was actively dispersed by the caster and slowed down a little, leaving them with a few tiny loopholes and a trace of cruel hope.

There was no whiff of malice and no hint of a normal warning.

The other party seemed to be just curious about whether the visitors who came here specifically “could handle it”. It was like… No, he hoped that it was just thinking too much.

Maybe he could try to unlock it.

Holding the light shield with one hand, Adrian’s other hand continuously threw out the advanced techniques taught by the Laddism Church, adding a few self-compiled spells to adjust. He desperately felt the aura of abyssal magic from the darkness and kept constantly doing calculations to break it.

Sweat crawled across his forehead, passed through his eyelashes, and penetrated into his eyes, but he didn’t dare to blink.

In theory, it could be possible, but the strength required was a bit strong…

At the moment of great tribulation, the mages of the Laddism Church and the Mooney Sect didn’t dare to show the slightest bit of neglect. Countless white rays illuminated the Pale Hive, which trembled frantically as if it were daylight. Hamlin’s arms were exposed with several blood marks, representing spiritual sacrifice that were painted on. The gray film on his eyeballs appeared extremely clear in the overly bright light of the spells.

Bagelmaurus, whose attributes were exactly the same as the enemy, didn’t dare to act rashly for fear of helping, so it had to symbolically cover itself and the fuller goat tightly with abyssal magic.

The air was cold and muddy, and even a little sticky, as the countless gasps and footsteps intertwined.

The blue dragon let out an earth-shattering roar, and the unique spells of the dragon clan swayed in circles, hitting the darkness heavily. The two sides collided too violently, and the stone platform floating in the air made an unpleasant cracking sound and was scrapped by the abyssal magic spinning wildly outside. The knights attached all their magic to their shields, gritted their teeth to slow down the speed of the shadow’s advance, and bought more time for the casters behind them.

Unfortunately, the darkness didn’t intend to devour them simply by squeezing.

As people’s attack speed accelerated, the abyssal magic surrounding everyone began to disperse, forming attack spells one by one and blasting back. Gradually, seeing the abyssal spells that were constantly attacking, the faces of the mages became livid one after another…

The abyssal magic that came back from the bombardment had a highly similar magic structure to the surface magic that they had just thrown out with their own hands. It was better to say that it had independently perfected the shortcomings of those spells, making them more lethal.

The darkness that was constantly pressing close to the top of their heads seemed to devour everything. The shadows kept twisting, and the interval between strikes was getting shorter and shorter.

“Switch to defense!” the dwarf Rugo hissed, after trying his best to maintain the most basic defensive formation.

“Don’t use standard spells!” Adrian raised his voice. “This magic array has the ability to analyze. Attacking with self-programmed magic can interfere with it. The greater the difference in attacks, the better!”

The one-eyed dwarf in command glared at him but didn’t say much—the encirclement squeezed by the darkness was getting smaller, and many knights had exhausted their strength. The shields that had lost their spell protection were instantly corroded. There was not much time left for them.

Still a little short, the former Knight of Judgment gritted his teeth. He just needed to catch the last flaw in the magic array that was swimming around in the dark…

“Jesse.” In the chaos, Adrian’s voice was very clear.

“Hm?”

People retreated and crowded together. The darkness was getting closer, but it was also getting thinner under the crazy attack of Adrian Cross.

“Next, I may not be able pay attention to your situation. I must concentrate and use my best strength to crack it.”

“Go ahead.”

One after another, self-made magic blasted into the darkness, hitting the weak points precisely. Commander Rugo no longer tried to interfere with the crazy warrior. This was completely beyond the scope of prior calculations, and the former knight commander of the Laddism Church’s reaction was more akin to pure instinct.

“If you can’t hold on, you can disconnect the mana supply. This is your freedom.”

“I am certainly aware of that.”

“Thank you.”

A dazzling white light burst open in an instant.

The white light was so intense that most of the members of the reconnaissance team were briefly blinded for a few seconds at the same time. They only heard a tooth-aching, cracking sound.

The tremor stopped, and the magic lamp lit up again, but no one dared breathe loudly.

The oppressive darkness disappeared, and the dim teleportation array lay at their feet. Everyone was exhausted, but at least most of them were still alive. The young member of the choir had fainted because of excessive magic consumption.

There was only a mess left on the originally flat and clean stone platform, and the survivors didn’t pay much attention to the heroes of this battle…

Adrian Cross stood still, covered in scars. The darkness obviously recognized the culprit who caused the most damage to it and launched a very targeted attack before the collapse. The former knight commander of the Laddism Church stood steadily, without meaning to fall. His blond companion sat quietly aside, holding his forehead with one hand, his face buried in the shadow.

No one cheered.

No one spoke.

It stood to reason that they could still obtain information, and even more in this battle. It was supposed to be like this…

Commander Rugo let out a long sigh. The people here were all specially selected as excellent soldiers who could choose to paralyze and deceive themselves on the battlefield.

Adrian wiped the blood from his lips and gave a wry smile. Yes, in a sense, the current situation was even reasonable—after observing their limits, they were “no longer useful”.

He noticed this the moment he completely unlocked the huge and complicated attack spell…

Everything made sense. There was more than one caster doing the work here.

The rich darkness, full of superior aura, was the handwriting of one of them. If he guessed correctly, the other made two small changes on the basis of this terrible spell.

First, one caster was concealed in the dark aura and let the reconnaissance team walk on the floating stone platform full of ominous aura.

Second, another caster attached a little chain spell. Once the dangerous magic array was over, another seal would automatically open.

Adrian Cross threw down the metal bow that had already been broken in two, raised his head, and looked at the weird low mountain full of holes called the “Pale Hive”…

Every hole, including their way of entering, was now filled with huge demons. They poked their weird heads out of the hole and looked down at the tired team condescendingly.

Their eyes were hungry and full of murderous intent.

---

The author has something to say:

Hee Hee Hee Hee (?

Continue to drum and pass the FLAG——

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<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 231: Side by Side

Hamlin Elmer sat quietly in his floating chair.

Considering the inconvenience of his eyes, the control of the chair was in the hands of the other Laddism believers. The members of the choir had always been rare and precious. The Laddism Church had specially assigned a believer to guard him to ensure that their important backup personnel wouldn’t be injured by accident.

Although the team had been in the depths of the Abyss for a month, for Hamlin, who couldn’t see with both eyes, there wasn’t much difference between the surface and the Abyss.

As a non-combatant, Hamlin had limited information. At the moment, he could only speculate in his heart based on the content of his companions’ conversations, and at the same time, he was keenly aware of changes in temperature and humidity. So far, the mages of the Laddism Church hadn’t extracted his mana. That meant that the guard was still safe, and the mages didn’t need to fight for their lives.

The reconnaissance team was heading to its final destination. In the previous battle, he lost his hat embroidered with a tranquilizer array. The gradually falling temperature made his entire body cold, and fear was like a net made of thorns that tightly covered his internal organs.

It didn’t matter.

Hamlin kneaded his cuffs with his nails that were a little too long.

It didn’t matter as fear was part of this job.

The moment he stepped into the Laddism Church and handed in the application, Hamlin Elmer knew what he was going to face—pledging his eyesight to the Laddism Church for sixty years and unconditionally following the Laddism fighters to the battlefield, catacombs, and even the Abyss, ready to use Spiritual Sacrifice to provide magic to mages who had exhausted their own mana.

In exchange, he would receive extremely generous monetary treatment for civilians.

Usually, this money was used by the members of the choir on their families, and if they want to break the contract and leave in advance, they need to pay a lot of money to redeem their vision.

Even the Black Chapters or mercenaries who sold their lives at least still had their freedom to choose or give up work. Being born with talent that one didn’t know whether it was a curse or blessing, it was better to be born as a nobleman. Otherwise, living in an ordinary family, the choices for those physically disabled geniuses were very limited. If they chose to give up, most would only become burdens on their families.

And their magical talents would go to waste.

Being poor and being born with a physical handicap; these two factors were enough to deprive them of the opportunity to become top mages.

The church and nobility who wanted to cultivate power would mainly choose healthy civilian children. “Normal” geniuses were the most popular. Those in power didn’t need the best. The cost of cultivating a mage wasn’t low, and the handicap caused by the amazing talent couldn’t be cured. This meant that even if it took more time to train mages with poorer qualifications to follow their offspring, people were reluctant to bring back a troublesome character who needed to be taken care of from time to time.

The troublesome character, Hamlin, felt the dry and cold air blowing through his skin and lowered his head silently.

His self-esteem didn’t allow him to sit in the house alone, so he could only do some simple manual work to make ends meet and watched his brother, with excellent combat qualifications, go to the pier to move goods for a lifetime to support his disabled brother, who couldn’t go out.

He should feel satisfied, Hamlin thought to himself. At least he was lucky. Oliver Ramon brought huge wealth to his brother. He just needed to complete the final work, redeem his eyesight, and return to his brother.

As long as he could go back alive.

The number of the two teams that were divided up from the reconnaissance team wasn’t large, so the people were as cautious as possible. As the team ventured deeper into the Abyss, apart from vague whispered conversations and light footsteps, Hamlin could hardly hear anything from the outside world. His heartbeat was louder than those two sounds combined.

He only did a simple exchange with the person taking care of him to order his three meals a day and nothing more.

But as time passed, the endless fear was mixed with the impending freedom, which became particularly sharp and deadly. Hamlin opened his mouth slightly, breathing faster and faster. His head began to drift, and his thoughts gradually became confused.

How many days have passed? Where have they gone now?

Are the people around him really still there?

“Are you okay?” As if perceiving his uneasiness, a hand patted his forearm that was resting on the armchair.

“Lord Cross… uh, Mr. Cross,” Hamlin muttered in a low voice. “Thank you for your concern. I’m fine, just a little nervous. You—you’re an escort. According to the rules, we shouldn’t talk for too long. I will cause you trouble.”

“According to the map, we’re still half a day away.” The voice of the former Knight of Judgment was completely different from what he thought, low and gentle. “Don’t mind, if you want to say something, I can listen.”

“I… I have nothing to say. Thank you. Thank you very much.”

Praise Zenni. He was really stupid. As soon as the words were spoken, Hamlin felt regretful. What he needed most now was communication, but the other party was in a high position, like a Knight of Judgement…

“You’re welcome.” The gentle bass didn’t stop. “Then I’ll talk.”

Hamlin nodded subconsciously.

“Lord Quinn is considering abolishing the choir and is looking for a more reasonable way to reorganize. Although I have no position now, I still want to apologize to you.”

“There’s nothing to be sorry for. I also received a reward. After all, Laddism taught us the way, thus this is the grace of God.”

“The reward is in exchange for your strength, not your current pain.” Adrian Cross sounded very serious. “This is a fair trade, not alms. You don’t need to put yourself so low.”

“But…”

“The grace of God.” A smiling voice intervened. That voice was also nice, but it’s a pity that every word was soaked in frivolity. “Oh my, Mr. Elmer, did you know—the original choir didn’t need to mortgage their eyesight.”

Hamlin completely forgot that he was in the Abyss, and he shook his head in confusion.

“People like you are geniuses, and geniuses always learn things quickly. Of course, there will be people who can learn just by looking. I think you can guess what happened next. One of the choir members learned enough, terminated the contract, and leaked most of the secret spells taught by the Laddism Church. Well, how should I put this? At that time, the Pope adjusted the weight of the ‘grace of God’ at will. Perhaps he even calculated the number of pounds.”

“Dylan!”

Adrian started to have a headache again.

Under his comfort, the poor young man’s breathing just showed signs of slowing down, and he was frightened right back to how he was by Mr. Dylan’s disrespectful speech. The offensive conversation had already caused a number of fanatics to cast warning glances. As soon as Jesse Dylan’s words were uttered, the fanatic closest to them looked very much like he was going to draw a sword and cut something.

Jesse played with a strand of drooping blond hair with his fingers, grinning, trying to make his usual face. But this time he didn’t succeed.

The blond young man frowned, covered his mouth and nose with a handkerchief, and coughed a few times. When he took off the handkerchief, it was stained with dazzling blood.

After a few days, Jesse didn’t bother to lead the goat anymore. The grey parrot had a leash around its neck and was forced to take over the responsibility of taking care of the fuller goat. Now it glanced at the bright red on the handkerchief and was so shocked that it almost fell to the ground.

“Oh my,” Jesse sighed softly, casually casting a cleansing spell and putting it back in his pocket.

“What’s the matter with you?” The blood mark on the back of his neck was taking effect, and Adrian quietly drew a tranquilizer array on Hamlin’s arm, then he turned his face and frowned at Jesse beside him. “Don’t tell me you are okay.”

Jesse Dylan’s face was no longer peachy. In the dark, that beautiful face completely turned pale.

“My spirit is going to wither. How about healing me with kisses, my knight?” Mr. Dylan’s expression and behavior were as usual.

“Please don’t make such a joke now.”

“Don’t mind, I can’t die anyway.” Seeing that he couldn’t avoid the problem, the blond young man shrugged indifferently.

Adrian Cross was silent for a long time, then sighed. “Even Mr. Light knows what pain is like. This is not a matter of life and death. Let me ask another question, how do you feel?”

Jesse Dylan raised his eyebrows. “Do you feel it? It’s true that it hurts a little bit, but it’s not a big deal. Do you feel sorry for me, my love?”

Adrian shook his head helplessly. He stepped forward, stretched out his hands, held Jesse’s chin with one hand, cut the fingers of the other hand with magic, lifted Jesse’s hair, and drew a small but extremely delicate array on his forehead.

In a rare moment, Jesse didn’t move. Adrian could feel a subtle smile floating on the other party’s face close at hand, and his serious gaze was brushing his face inch by inch.

“You seem to have a poor tolerance to abyssal magic.” Skillfully ignoring the other party’s ambiguous actions, after drawing the formation, he explained patiently.

“I think so.” Jesse wiped the blood on his forehead with his fingertips, and his smile became more meaningful. “Your judgment is very accurate, Adri… It seems that I am not welcome here; very unwelcomed. Alas, the atmosphere just now was magnificent. You should have kissed me as well.”

“Get closer here, Mr. Dylan. Your position is too close to the edge, as far as your physical condition is concerned… It’s not suitable.” Adrian ignored him and continued solemnly.

Jesse Dylan crossed his arms, looking reluctant.

Although there was no problem with the formation, he didn’t look much better. Adrian hesitated for a few seconds, then stretched out a hand softly. “Please come here.”

“Adri, actually, I’ve been to the abyss before.” Jesse grabbed the hand. His palm was uncharacteristically cold. “It wasn’t that bad last time. Maybe this is what people say, ‘You’ll become allergic the second time.’”

“Maybe,” Adrian responded calmly, glancing at Jesse beside him.

Jesse Dylan smiled weakly and said nothing. He followed Adrian quietly, closed his mouth, and didn’t speak again, as everyone in Tumbleweed had always wanted.

They continued to move forward quietly.

It was too quiet, and an idea came out of the knight commander’s mind for no reason. He was obviously familiar with this lifeless silence. It had run through almost his entire life, but now he was unexpectedly unable to adapt to it again.

Adrian stopped instinctively.

As a battlefield-hardened warrior and a qualified leader, he was used to imagining all the bad possibilities, but he didn’t know why. He never thought that “Jesse Dylan might disappear from the world.” Perhaps it was because that proud guy always looked overconfident, or perhaps it was because of the opponent’s bottomless abnormal strength.

Maybe it was because the other party always had a casual and relaxed smile on his face.

With some kind of wonderful irritability, Adrian looked at the front of the team—the dark blue dragon was walking in front, and commander Rugo stood on the dragon’s head, looking like a small dot. They moved in the exact opposite direction with the other team, and after a few days, they were finally about to leave the land of Phantom Throat.

The hidden seventh set of magic arrays wasn’t far away.

They would guard the reconnaissance team to obtain the final information, and then the dragon would be equipped with expensive dragon breath stone flying props and fly back to the surface quickly with all of them to meet the other party at the entrance. They would first have to survive any possible battles, and then they need to deal with the fanatics who they didn’t know what they were planning.

This task was quite dangerous but wasn’t complicated.

He shouldn’t feel anxious because of a little accident.

But he still stopped, and when Jesse Dylan followed slowly, Adrian took another step, and the two walked side by side in silence. He stood firmly on the outer edge of the weakly defended team, clenched the metal bow in his hand, and firmly guarded the always annoying guy on the team.

Jesse continued to remain silent.

His internal organs were burning painfully, and Jesse, who had basically never suffered a loss on the surface, didn’t like this new and strange feeling at all. Nearly ten years ago, he had been to the bottom of the abyss—everything was under control at that time, and it went very smoothly as he didn’t encounter any opponents.

Almost nothing was found.

The situation had changed now, and something unreasonable had happened at the bottom of the Abyss. Even under the premise that he knew Nemo Light’s life well, Jesse still couldn’t be sure what was going on below.

And he must know.

Because this destructive sense of oppression was undoubtedly aimed at himself. The Nemo Light he knew, wouldn’t be hostile to him at this level, but except for Mr. Light, there was no other life in this world that could suppress him so much.

What exactly did Nemo Light plan before heading to the surface?

Even if “this part” of the body was used as a bargaining chip, he must at least determine the degree of danger at the bottom of the Abyss. It was just that if this body was lost here, all the information collected during this time will…

“Adri, are you protecting me?” Jesse glanced at the human walking side by side with him and skillfully injected a smile into his voice. “Then you have to protect me, I’m very fragile.”

“Okay,” After a silence of about half a minute, Adrian replied softly.

---

The author has something to say:

Hee Hee Hee Hee (?

Drumming up the flag has started!

Don’t lose Jesse’s flag. Take it out slowly to expose the Abyss. Maybe you can still live.

Knight commander: ……

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<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 230: Dividing the Troops

Adrian Cross wasn’t surprised by the warning.

The former Knight of Judgment was unruffled. His fingers that had just released the arrow were still seeping blood. He swallowed the bread that Jesse stuffed into his mouth quietly without showing even a hint of surprise on his face.

After politely and quickly finishing the piece of white bread, Adrian finally spoke. He threw a short question at the uneasy choir member, “A fanatic?”

The young man with abnormal eyes nodded cautiously. He looked extremely nervous, and he was sure that the other party understood what he meant. The young man saluted the four members of Tumbleweed again and quickly returned to the reconnaissance team far away.

Jesse let out a short “ha” but didn’t withdraw the subtle smile in his expression in time.

“A fanatic?” Oliver had a belly full of questions, and he decided to start with the clearest one.

Nemo beside him quickly unloaded a package of ham from the goat, and the mage of Tumbleweed used the black shadow as a chopping board to neatly make a simple sandwich. Letting the shadow blade fly up and down on the side, Nemo’s eyes locked on the knight commander…

“Well, I can tell. Since that gentleman made a point to warn us, he should have heard something. Mr. Ramon, has that mage ever bothered you?”

“…Not too much trouble, but that gentleman is indeed not very friendly.” Oliver recalled the contemptuous “sinner” for a moment.

“I don’t think they’re going to make you their primary target because of the way you two behaved just now in battle. If they really plan to do something, Mr. Dylan and I are better targets.”

“This is the Abyss, and we are the guards.” Nemo stopped the shadow blade in shock. “Would anyone really choose to cause trouble at this time?”

“Because it is in the Abyss, some things will happen more ‘naturally’.” Jesse glanced at the red-robed mage in the distance, pointed his chin at the person next to him, and touched a freshly made sandwich with his hand. “Look.”

Although the people of the Laddism Church gathered in one place, they were far apart from the believers of the Mooney Sect. If one looked closely, the believers of the Laddism Church seemed to be faintly divided into two groups. Preceptor Felix was obviously standing far away from the group of mages.

Considering the comprehensiveness of the information, the people of Laddism Church must also be divided into two teams. As a member of the Laddism Church escorts, with Horizon only having two members, and in order to maintain a balance of power, Tumbleweed was destined to move separately.

“If the reconnaissance team succeeds in bringing back valuable information, it will be a great achievement no matter which religion it is. There’s also a power struggle within the Laddism Church. You know, it is the behemoth after all—Do you suppose that there will only be one faction that comes to take the credit?” The blond young man snorted.

“Since it’s an internal struggle, why are they coming for us?” Oliver huffed and asked subconsciously.

“Don’t forget, dear captain. We are the guards selected by the Pope himself,” Jesse said with a smile. “That old fox is extremely shrewd. No one likes Black Chapters, but Mr. Bishop’s attitude along the way is very good. He must have been specifically instructed by the Pope not to be enemies of us casually… Ah, even I began to admire that cunning old guy.”

“If our escort succeeds, he will gain enough information and be able to sell us more favors under the pretense of our poor reputation. If we fail—Well, I don’t think that’ll happen, so you’re all basically aware of the actual situation of this team.”

Hearing the disrespectful address of the Pope, Adrian frowned and glared at Jesse. “This is one aspect.”

Having said that, the knight commander pulled the corners of his mouth helplessly. “In addition to interest, there is also faith. The last Pope focused on maintaining the ‘glory of God’ and was extremely strict with heretics. Since Lord Quinn took office, the policy has eased a lot, but it’s all based on ignoring some of the harsher dogmas.”

He let out a soft sigh.

“When it comes to the followers of the last Pope, some people are indeed dissatisfied with what Dylan said about the interests, but there are also some who firmly believe that Lord Quinn is sacrificing Zenni’s glory in exchange for filthy riches.”

Zenni’s glory.

Nemo silently folded the freshly baked sandwich and rolled his eyes in his heart.

Mr. Dylan had no glory to sacrifice. If the so-called glory could be exchanged for gold coins, he wouldn’t be surprised if Dylan put it up for auction. After all, their diviner didn’t even cherish his own face, let alone such a high-level thing like glory.

But at this point, even he and Oliver, who had little experience, could understand that under the coordination of the old pope, conflicts of interest may be able to be discussed in the long run. Although faith was also related to interests, extreme conflicts of faith were ultimately difficult to reconcile.

Not to mention that attacking comrades-in-arms was a repugnant behavior in any context, so the dogmas that those fanatics follow should not allow them to do so. Thus, if they wanted to express their resistance to the current Pope now, there was no moral burden to start with Tumbleweed.

Especially Adrian Cross, who “rebelled” from the Laddism Church but was passively pursued by the Pope.

Nemo took a bite of the sandwich in silence and stuffed some chopped ham over his shoulder for the gray parrot, who was still intoxicated with itself.

Pope Dawn Quinn should have been able to foresee this, and the knight commander, who was once a high-ranking member of the Laddism Church, knew what he would face. The agreement they signed at the Clementine Cathedral that day may have been heavier than they thought.

“Sorry, I didn’t think it through at first.” Oliver took a few deep breaths.

“You had no choice.” The knight’s long tone was steady. “At that point in time, agreeing to the pope was indeed the most favorable decision for the team.”

“If it’s me,” Jesse hooked an arm around the knight’s long neck and changed the subject neatly, “I will do it after collecting the information and successfully returning to the surface. Although the fanatics are crazy, they’re not brainless… If we meet as soon as possible, there shouldn’t be any big problems.”

“Ollie and I are going to deal with the fanatics.” Nemo swallowed the sandwich in his mouth.

“You are also a great target, ‘demon worshipper’ Nemo Light. I think they dislike you no less than me.” The knight commander shook his head gently and took the sandwich handed to him by Nemo with both hands. “The bishop has the Pope’s entrustment in front of him, so he shouldn’t stare and prick at you. You and Mr. Ramon are less likely to be exposed.”

Adrian’s tone was a little strong, leaving no room to refute. “No matter which of you is exposed, the situation will be much worse than me. Dylan is considered a powerful person. If the two of us cooperate, the combat effectiveness will be sufficient.”

“My love, your fiery trust makes my heart tremble,” Jesse pressed his chest and said affectionately.

“And,” the knight commander ignored Jesse, who was rubbing up against him, “Mr. Light, if this topic is over, can you explain the situation with the parrot?”

“……”

The reconnaissance team spent a full week investigating the fifth set of arrays, but unfortunately, the situation in the Gravity Maze was special, and they could no longer use the puppet bird to bring out any information. By the time the reconnaissance team arrived at Phantom Throat, this tired team had been in the Abyss for a month.

Only the few members of Tumbleweed still had the spirit to react to the spectacular scene in front of them.

The ground material here was extremely weird; hard and smooth, exuding a hazy white light. The light was very soft and not dazzling, but it could illuminate everything in front of them.

The numbers of demons who chose to inhabit here was unexpectedly low. There was endless darkness above their heads, and only a pearl-white glowing ground was under their feet. The scenery was as clean as an illusion. The pearl-white ground continued to undulate, folding not far from them, separating into two natural passages.

Nemo finally understood why it was called “Phantom Throat”.

“We’ve arrived. Very good, very good,” Commander Rugo said weakly, rolling his one-eye eyeball. “It’s time to divide the team now. One dragon on each side. There’s nothing to argue about. Our people will also be divided into two teams, and the rest of you humans are free to divide as you like.”

He even let out a malicious laugh.

“It’s a balance between intelligence and fate. Everyone, don’t get too far into it.”

The knight commander looked at the young man who had specifically warned them—Sure enough, the member of the choir was assigned to the group of fanatics.

After all, the Pope had been committed to disbanding the choir.

“Let’s go, Dylan.” Adrian hesitated for a moment, stretched out his hand and patted Jesse on the back lightly.

Jesse gleefully grabbed Bagelmaurus with both hands and forced it to lock eyes with him. This only made the latter try to imitate an owl and turn its head squarely backwards—It even looked like it was close to succeeding.

The appearance of the mutant flat snake in the Gravity Maze flashed through his mind, causing Adrian to stretch out his hand and pinch his eyebrows. The scenery in the Abyss was so strange that even things they knew began to become absurd.

An eight-hundred-meter-long giant demon.

Glancing at the parrot struggling with dissatisfaction in Jesse’s hands, the former knight frowned and shook his head, barely pressing the memories of the dangerous superior demon back to his heart.

Compared with Nemo Light, the situation in Bagelmaurus was at least within common sense. Now it seemed that it had successfully restored its power through its own body, and the arrogance of the superior demon had finally returned—after all, not long ago, even the pure human Ann Savage was able to defeat it.

Business was more important. Adrian retracted his gaze.

One week was enough time for them to make a decision.

After Bagelmaurus made a scene in the Gravity Maze, Godwin Lopez was obviously determined to keep an eye on Nemo. Since the two members of Horizon didn’t plan to split up, Nemo and Oliver tentatively followed Preceptor Felix and stuffed the crying grey parrot to Jesse.

“It’s an important combat power.” The leader of Tumbleweed solemnly instructed.

However, at the moment, Jesse Dylan was holding their important combat power in one hand and the fuller goat in the other, leaning towards the fanatics with joy.

“Although the environment is not very beautiful, this is our two-person world anyway, Adri.” The blond young man winked his eyes ambiguously at him.

But this couldn’t hide Mr. Dylan’s slightly pale face.

Adrian sighed, walked forward, and touched Jesse’s forehead with his hand. After confirming that the temperature was normal, he put down his hand slightly worriedly. “If you are uncomfortable, please don’t try to tough it out. Passing through the Phantom Throat, it’s not far from the bottom of the Abyss… Anything can happen there.”

“Oh, of course I know.” Jesse instantly let go of the parrot he was holding in his hand, grabbed the hand and kissed it unceremoniously. “Your concern is enough to cure me, my love.”

Glancing at the unusually calm blue pupils, the knight lowered his gaze and retracted his hand.

But at the moment he was about to speak, the tingling sensation of being peeped at by others quickly crept up on his back. Adrian subconsciously took two steps forward, clenched the metal bow, and made a guard posture beside the choir member.

He instinctively looked into the darkness somewhere in the distance. The feeling came and went quickly—the darkness over there was dead, without any semblance of life.

Was it an illusion?

“Oh, your breathing stopped.” In the dark, a voice came from the darkly colored communication crystal. The tone was fantastical. “Someone is watching?”

“Cross has a good intuition,” the demon wrapped in armor said solemnly.

“Do you plan to watch from the sidelines?” Telaranea complained loudly on the crystal side. “You should know, Aurorae, you can’t get too close to the bottom of the Abyss now. Even if the body is connected with magic, my eyeballs can’t withstand the aura of the Demon King, not to mention, the ones that were cut apart by me and given to you— You’d better hurry and settle things and return to the surface.”

The voice of the Sage of the Abyss became a little more serious.

“I don’t want to vacate a physical body to do nothing but wait for you exclusively near the entrance of the Abyss.”

“Witherspoon failed to succeed in solving the problem.” Aurorae didn’t answer the other party’s question positively.

“Tsk, I even taught it how to control dolls. What? Was it scared by the aura of the “Demon King” again?”

“After all, it’s a magma wyrm. It’s clear that Light is just a fake, so he wouldn’t flinch just because of a little aura. He was defeated by Bagelmaurus.”

“Interesting. An upgraded corewen flat snake? It is a case worth studying.”

“The parrot is still following them.” Aurorae touched the hilt of the big sword behind him. “At present, I don’t have the terrain advantage to kill them all at once, and it’s not time for me to be exposed. If there’s no problem with the arrangement, the group of people who went to examine the hidden array will die, and I don’t need to make any special moves—I’ll continue to follow Nemo Light.”

The line of sight passed through the gap in the helmet, and those orange-red eyes swept towards the reconnaissance team in the distance. The voice of the demon slayer was extremely cold.

“On this side…Well, if they persist and continue to explore unknowingly, there’s still a chance Light will survive alone.”

“And you can’t allow that to happen.”

“Yes.”

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The author has something to say:

[Package 1] It is recommended to match it with sweet and sour ketchup.

There’s a copy of the Laddism Church members with a Bishop, and a copy of the Mooney Sect believers with bitter hearts; one red dragon, a few one-eye dwarves.

A combination of the Demon King and the Hero, and two Horizon mercenaries.

[Package 2] It is recommended to match it with fresh red chili sauce.

There is a copy of Laddism fanatics without a Bishop, and a copy of Mooney Sect with super bitter hearts; one blue dragon, a few one-eye dwarves.

A combination of God, a knight commander, a parrot (?), one goat. Attached is an unlucky member of the choir.

——

Destiny’s Menu√

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