Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

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Chapter 132: Firelight

The male assassin with a cold attitude was on the other side of the arena.

Randy threw out his heavy shield vigorously. His movements were much freer than when they fought side by side. Mora shouldn’t be with him, and he didn’t have to worry about her not keeping up with his actions. Oliver heard about how decisive the tall man was. Randy would never refuse anyone who attacked. No matter how many people attacked at the same time, he never avoided fighting, and the battle would always end with the death of his opponent.

The tall assassin’s worth had skyrocketed. There was only one reason why he was still here. He had never taken the initiative, so he wasn’t “qualified” enough.

No one here would call other people’s names. It was better to say that some people forgot their real names. They called each other by how much they were worth. The death row prisoner first called Randy “10,000 with scars on his face”, then “20,000 with scars on his face”. After just a few days, there was no death row prisoner who would approach Randy. They just directly call him “50,000”.

Just like they directly called him “300,000”.

Randy’s behavior seemed contradictory, but Oliver could guess a bit about his purpose. Mora was still active outside the prison. Although he didn’t know the plans of the two assassins, most likely Randy was stalling on their behalf.

The assassin stood quietly on top of the bloodshed. The heavy shield that had taken countless lives rested beside him, covered with flesh and brains.

The smell of blood filled Oliver’s lungs. At the moment, there was no fiery fighting atmosphere in the arena. Most people were quiet, as if they were performing a dull daily task. There was only the wailing of the wounded and the sound of weapons colliding on the field. There were rarely curses. Newcomers would curse a few words at first, then most would either fall silent or die.

Oliver retracted his gaze from Randy. Not far from him, the moist smell of blood came to his face, and blood poured out of the wound of a death row prisoner. He quickly turned his face away. His dry throat tightened, and he couldn’t see the liquid flowing down his skin.

His panting and fighting skills had also become famous after the battles in the past few days. No one wanted to get into an entanglement with the strange knight wearing the skeleton helmet for too long. His lips were dry and cracked, his face was full of dust and bloodstains, and his whole body didn’t feel as if he was even half alive. They weren’t sure whether the other party was a living person or a corpse deliberately manipulated by the Gatekeepers.

After all, this was a free-for-all battlefield. What Oliver’s persistence brought wasn’t stability, but an uncoordinated sense of terror. Most death row prisoners would rather choose another opponent with a strong desire to attack.

Although there was no hint of time, most people would get tired and the pace of the fighting in the entire arena would slow down. The death row prisoners who were fighting in a chaotic mess gradually spread out. Most of the attackers who hoped to gain the favor of the Death Row Legion as soon as possible were black and blue, while the escapees were on the brink of exhaustion.

But there was one exception today.

A shrinking middle-aged man approached Oliver. His whole body was covered with blood and some of his gray hair was smeared with dirt, leaving only a handful of bones. The man held a rusted sword in his right hand, and his bloody tag was exposed.

There were only two digits left on his tag.

The man trembled so much that he didn’t dare lift his head, as if he was frightened. It felt like an air-dried rabbit corpse.

“Good man. I’m not your opponent,” he murmured. His voice was hoarse, as if he had swallowed strong acid. “But I know you’re a kind person… I can see it. Can you give me a hundred points? Just one hundred. You don’t lack these hundred points.”

His sword-wielding hand hung limp to the ground, with no intention of fighting, and his stick-like arm was still bleeding. Blood dripped onto the soil along the mottled blade of the long sword.

“I can’t lose anymore… I… If my value is taken away again, I’ll be sent to the test area. Please, I don’t want to go back to the test area, but I can’t fight anymore today. Please, please…”

The man’s voice was like a fake sob.

Oliver held his sword vigilantly. He wouldn’t be stupid enough to accept all the other party’s words at this time, but the person in front of him was a complete loser. His voice, his appearance—this person hadn’t won in a very long time.

But…

He didn’t put down his sword and looked at the person seriously.

“Please. Please. Just let me touch your collar.” The man lowered his head to his chest and repeated in a broken tone. “I understand your concern. I’ll put down the sword now…”

After he said that, he let go of his right hand and the inconspicuous ragged weapon fell to the ground. He may have been too eager for Oliver’s consent and completely ignored the fact…

That others would not let this great opportunity go.

A bald man in red armor rushed at them at some point. The long ax slashed straight at the unarmed middle-aged man. Oliver’s attention shifted in an instant. He tried his best to turn around quickly and the Rest in Peace firmly held the blade of the ax that was shining in the cold light.

But his opponent’s eyeballs were convex, and a mocking smile slowly appeared on his face.

“300,000… 300,00,” he repeated. “How exciting.”

Oliver reacted for a few seconds before realizing what the other party was talking about.

Exhaustion numbed his pain. He only felt a slight tingling and an unnatural cold. He still maintained the posture of holding the blade of the ax and slowly lowered his head.

There was an extra piece of blood-red metal on his chest, like the tip of a longsword. The blade of the sword penetrated the location of his heart. The edge was pitted, and an obvious rust stain could be seen in the blood.

‘It shouldn’t be like this,’ he thought groggily. ‘It shouldn’t be like this.’

Then the tip of the sword retracted from his chest under his gaze. The owner drew it back, bringing up a string of blood.

…Was this reality? For a moment, Oliver was at a loss.

Then the world in front of him turned into a pure dark red. Before he realized it, his body had already fallen into the mud. He tried to keep his eyes open, but everything in front of him was quickly blurred. Oliver’s brain was blank, and all his thoughts seemed to stop working in an instant. He instinctively moved his head and looked at his left wrist.

“Nemo, I…”

But before he had time to see anything, his vision was overwhelmed by darkness.

“Sad instinct.” The thin middle-aged man finally raised his head. His eyes were abnormally blood-red. The shrinking look just disappeared without a trace. “What an idiot.”

The death row prisoners not far away averted their gaze one after another. Some even breathed a sigh of relief. No one made a sound. The puzzling “abnormal” person had finally disappeared, and the days they were familiar with were about to return.

Everything would work out normally, continuing to exude a cold and stiff sense of security.

The middle-aged man with red eyes was playing with the metal tag in his hand, and his voice was abnormally happy. “3,005, how long do you think this 300,000 is enough for me to lose?”

The other party just frowned at the metal tag. The middle-aged man raised his eyebrows and brought the tag to his eyes.

The above was still two digits.

“…Something’s wrong. This guy can’t be alive,” he muttered, glancing at the weird knight who fell to the ground.

Those lost emerald eyes were still half open, and the blood flowing out had gathered into a large pool. Even if the heart wasn’t destroyed, this blood loss was fatal.

The middle-aged man wiped the tag impatiently, but the trembling strokes on the tag weren’t distorted. They stubbornly maintained their double-digit appearance.

“Oh, count…”

This was the last sentence he left in this world.

A heavy metal shield flew from a distance and directly shattered his head. Its speed was so fast that after the shield flew over, there was only a section of his neck that couldn’t stop spurting blood from his skinny shoulder.

3,005 with the long axe in his hand, was extremely aware of the current situation. He slipped into the dense crowd in the next second. The new slayer of the arena came over and silently picked up his shield back into his hand, then paused for a few seconds in front of the knight in the pool of blood and let out a very light sigh.

Then he also frowned. The knight’s metal plate was almost submerged in blood, but the value of 300,000 did not decrease.

“The battle is over.” At that moment, an emotionless voice was expanded by magic and resounded over the arena.

The white-robed death row prisoners in the testing zone hurriedly entered like ants. Some of them put bodies or fragments of bodies into a cart, while others were responsible for returning the injured to their cells. Everything was in order.

This should be the case.

“You’re bringing back 300,000’s corpse?” The big man who used a meteor hammer complained in a low voice. “This isn’t in line with regulations.”

“He’s not dead.” Micah shook his head desperately and defended in a low voice. “You… You see. There’s still value in his tag. He’s not dead. The Gatekeepers don’t make mistakes.”

The cell tonight was quiet. People stayed in their usual positions, staring indifferently at the lifeless body on the floor.

“Oh, that’s just right.” The sturdy man picked up his meteor hammer. “No matter how special he is, he’ll die if his head is crushed… What say you, little mouse?”

The short, mole-like man did not rush back to the darkest corner as before. He half knelt in front of the body and did not get out of the way.

“You… You can’t,” Micah said shivering, scratching the stitched wound until it cracked again. “If… If he really dies. Didn’t I make a mistake at the beginning? I’m right. I must be right…”

“What crazy shit are you saying?” The big man gave him a kick and specifically picked a nonfatal part. He watched as the white figure fell to the side. “Get out of the way.”

Micah whimpered, shrank back in place, and no longer put up resistance. He firmly turned his back to the two of them, holding his head tightly with both hands. The death row prisoner who used the meteor hammer picked up the heavy weapon and hesitated for a few seconds, but he gritted his teeth hard and used all his strength to smash it down.

However, there was no sound of splattered flesh and blood in the darkness. Just a flash of fire.

The metal evaporated the second before it touched the “corpse”. Even the melting of the metal jumped over the corpse. When the big man pulled up the ball chain again, only a hissing sound and smoke were left at the other end of the chain. The barbed iron ball was completely gone.

He took in a deep breath and staggered back. He trembled and made a few meaningless noises and finally succeeded in asking the question that everyone in the cell wanted to ask, “What the hell is this?”

The stubborn knight lay quietly on the stone brick floor. His wound was no longer bleeding. There was a faint sparkle on the edge of the black armor, like a charcoal fire that was about to go out. It breathed clearly and secretly, with a weird beauty that didn’t belong to this hell.

Underground in the arena.

“What’s the matter with this value?” The red-robed test zone manager roared. “His power is almost beyond the limit of his collar! Tela, you said he can’t die—”

“I simply guessed. Didn’t I tell you I was asleep?” The middle-aged man who was still stuck in the pile of books yawned.

The demon thought this reaction was indeed beyond his expectations.

Telaranea picked up a book and covered his face as an escape, so he could draw a line with the researchers who were in a hurry around him.

He stayed up all night and finally found a reasonable explanation for Oliver Ramon’s situation. More than 20 years ago, an abnormally strong external force enveloped Ramon’s heart, firmly suppressing the curse of the Trent Plague inside his heart while forcibly keeping the paralyzed heart pulsating.

This was the only solution he could think of, and depending on the current situation, this conjecture was probably correct, but…

Telaranea peeked out from the edge of the book and aimed his sight at Oliver Ramon’s constantly changing body data.

He never thought that the curse from the Abyss would completely surrender. This was simply unreasonable. The demon curled his lips under the page of the book. The power that suppressed the spread of the curse absolutely originated from the surface, and it was impossible to coexist in harmony with the power of the curse. After that sword destroyed Ramon’s heart, it caused the balance to break and the two forces—or perhaps coupled with the unlucky young man’s own magic—the three forces should fight each other in Ramon’s body until a new balance was reached.

The physical changes brought about by that process were quite interesting. Ramon may become a monster, or he may not be able to withstand the power struggle and explode. In any case, it shouldn’t be the current situation of falling asleep peacefully. Telaranea was a little aggrieved. The current situation was tantamount to a shocking explosion. The lead of the bomb burnt out and quietly muted the fire.

Something was wrong.

This was obviously the curse of the Abyss that had been entrenched for many years. How could it be like a blood scab that was completely killed? It disappeared as soon as it was fiddled with. If one were to make an analogy—it was like a brutal murderer who had been prying through doors for many years and finally sneaked into the mansion of his dreams, and then knelt down and killed himself as soon as he entered.

And the foreign power that had suppressed it for a long time was completely free. It was being transformed into Oliver Ramon’s own magic without hindrance.

This didn’t make any sense. The Trent Plague curse wouldn’t vanish so easily. There was definitely a force he didn’t know that was involved in this process, and that force must have originated from the Abyss.

An unknown fourth force. A contract? The flesh of a superior demon? Or something else…

What the hell happened to that kid Ramon? Telaranea pressed his temple in dissatisfaction. At present, he only knew of one situation that would have such an effect, and the situation itself was purely out of conjecture—

No matter what kind of spell it was, it would keep quiet when it returned to its origin.

But that was impossible. Ramon had never used abyssal magic. How could it be related to the origin of abyssal magic? About the essence of magic… That was a problem that even he hadn’t understood yet.

Forget it. Telaranea sighed and took the book away from his face.

That female human had been watching him from the corner for too long, and he had to solve the current problem first. The demon stretched, then stood up, toppling a book on his back and massaged his waist.

“Mr. Warden,” Telaranea smiled and looked at the warden with a white cloth wrapped around his face—rather, a petite woman who was so nervous that her face turned pale after putting on her disguise. “What can I do for you?”

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Kinky Thoughts:

I need some serious sugar after this… Poor Ollie!

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

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Chapter 131: Instinctive Torture

This was Oliver’s fourth night in the Withered Castle.

‘There’s still hell in this world,’ was the first time he had such thought. There were no complex or ingenious traps or sharp blades that made people nervous. Presumably, everyone’s mental weaknesses were different. If they were to take them down one by one in a targeted manner, the efficiency of the Gatekeepers would be horribly low.

The method they used was simple and crude—

There was no fresh water.

It was fine to say that there was no lack of food, but if there was no drinking water, people would die very quickly. The Gatekeepers obviously found a countermeasure. After almost three days of sleepless nights, Oliver probably understood why the metal ring at the end of the tag was directly inserted into the clavicle.

A very low amount of magic flowed into his body along with the metal, barely restoring his body to a level that could survive. However, it did nothing to reduce his hunger and thirst, which only worsened. He didn’t doubt at all that if someone took off the metal tag at this time, he would immediately fall into a coma due to lack of water.

The Gatekeepers designed it beautifully. The death row prisoners used in battle couldn’t touch a bathroom or any water-related places. All cleaning was done by a magic array, and most of the metabolic functions of the death row inmates were also suspended by the embedded metal ring. Compared to humans, they were more like flesh machines that were being cleaned up at the moment.

There was only a simple magic input and nothing else.

There was also a way to relieve the thirst and hunger that made it seem like one was dying, as long as they won. After defeating an opponent, the Gatekeepers would reward the player with a powerful recovery spell. It would make the human body instantly return to its peak state, and all discomfort, fatigue, and wounds would disappear. Someone once described its effect like this: One second it was still burning like the fires of hell, and the next it was like lying on a cloud in heaven.

As long as one obeys, as long as one wins. There was no better reason than instinct to shake human faith.

As long as one gave in, it was easy. Sticking to one’s virtues made no sense, except to make themselves weaker and easier to kill.

By now, Oliver was very clear about the Gatekeepers’ intentions, because at this moment, temptation was lying in his ear and whispering, roaring deep in his brain, making a soft call in every shadow…

Start lightly and don’t kill people; just take away a hundred points of value from others. Even if the other party enters the test zone earlier due to the loss in value… but who could be sure? Besides, there would be several battles before the opponent completely lost their points, and he wasn’t the person personally responsible for it. Taking a step back, perhaps his opponent could win the next round?

Do it, it whispered. Now that your power is suppressed, you’re not much different from ordinary people. This isn’t bullying. It’s survival. No one will blame you. Grab it.

But Oliver knew very well that that would be the first step to his descent.

He chuckled a few times at the empty darkness beside him. At this moment, his mouth was terribly dry, and his lips were cracked because of thirst, unable to withstand the pull of his muscles. The small cracks that had been scabbed were torn apart again, and Oliver greedily licked the beads of blood oozing from his lips, only to feel as if he was licking a thick bark.

He was already too weak to take the initiative to create more wounds and he couldn’t use his own blood to alleviate his thirst. It would only make him lose his physical strength faster. The wound on his body was slowly exuding blood, and the coagulated parts were stuck to the lining, causing tearing-like pain as soon as he moved. His head was dizzy and swollen from extreme thirst. In contrast to this, the pain in his body wasn’t strong.

The initial unbearable hunger had already turned into cramps and colics. His stomach acid seemed to be digesting his stomach. In a sense, he endured a lot. At present, Oliver had only one wish—that those wounds should not get infected too seriously. At this moment, he absolutely couldn’t afford the price of disease.

Because what was waiting for him during the day was another uninterrupted battle all day. He couldn’t sleep peacefully at night. Oliver clung to his Rest in Peace and leaned against the corner, staring at the darkness in front of him through his heavy eyelids.

There was a slight friction in front. Oliver suddenly pulled the Rest in Peace out of its scabbard. A soft blue light rolled across the snow-white body of the sword, but the friction didn’t disappear, but suddenly increased. A sharp iron thorn ran across Oliver’s cheek, bringing up a string of blood.

The sound of a heavy meteor hammer rose in the darkness as it smashed into the wall of the cell. Oliver rolled on the floor, holding the scabbard in one hand and the handle of the Rest in Peace in the other. His hand was still trembling uncontrollably.

‘So tired,’ he thought numbly, once again avoiding the murder weapon that almost hit him.

I want to rest. I don’t want to move anymore.

Oliver waved the sword in his hand and cut off the iron chain connecting the meteor hammer with one swing. He could feel his muscles screaming and aching, and his whole body was ridiculously soft.

Please, stop.

But the cell was still full of hostility and fear. The man whose weapon was destroyed let out a roar, followed by a second opponent, a third, and then Oliver didn’t even bother to count. The offensive of the people in the same cell became crazier, and he could only keep resisting their attacks while trying not to hurt them.

The more restrained he was, the more fearful people became and the more aggressive their attacks became.

That’s right. Oliver waved his sword wearily. He could guess what those people thought. The value of 300,000 was enough to tempt some of them to take risks. On the other hand, his body seemed to have reached its limits. If his mental defense completely collapsed and he decided to seek comfort and relief… Then the first wave of suffering would definitely hit the people who were locked up with him.

Those people were only worth a few thousand at most. Even if he was also deprived of magic and could only rely on his physical strength, the gap in combat skills was clear at a glance.

Just taking the lead and killing them would be a wise decision. Oliver gasped hard. The lack of sleep made his heartbeat extremely fast, but the annoying healing magic that poured in from the metal ring inserted into his clavicle made it so he couldn’t even faint.

In the end, it was the warden who came forward to end this exceptionally long night. It was just that he wasn’t there to protect “precious goods” but to inform them of the rising sun.

The daytime fight was about to begin.

“Are you going to tie again, 300,000?” The big man holding the meteor hammer had bloodshot eyes. “Don’t underestimate people.”

Oliver smiled with difficulty under the skeleton helmet, unable to respond to his opponent’s provocation. Indeed, in hundreds of short-lived battles so far, he had never won or lost.

But he was getting weaker and at this moment, Oliver wasn’t sure if he could return back alive.

The death row prisoners in the test area wearing standard robes were repairing weapons for a big man. Most of them were crawling with dense sutures, and their faces were expressionless. Under the restrictions of the collar, death row prisoners in the combat zone and the test zone couldn’t harm each other. In order to save manpower, each cell would have a few death row prisoners in the test area do chores uniformly.

For example, Micah. The mole-like man was looking at Oliver suspiciously, nervously scratching the suture marks on his arms.

“You’ll kill people sooner or later!” he said in a sharp voice, sweating profusely on his forehead. “You’ll sooner or later… You can’t…”

Oliver glanced at Micah but didn’t respond. He looked down at his left wrist…

He no longer had armor on his left wrist. A slightly festering engraving was exposed, protruding from the skin, making it dazzling red.

“Hi,” he muttered. “I’ll live until dawn today, Nemo.”

After that, Oliver sighed softly. He staggered to keep up with the warden, and marched towards the multiplayer arena as usual, but this time, when he was about to plunge into the entrance gate, a soft female voice sounded in his ears.

“Kill 3,005—the fat man in red armor who uses a long ax.” Mora’s voice came from behind the white cloth covering her face. “Usually no one wants to come up and provoke him, and he’s not in good health since yesterday. You can easily kill him if you want, and you’ll recover quickly.”

“Thank you,” Oliver said, trying to get his voice out of his throat. “But no need.”

“Why? Are you a crazy believer or something?”

“Because I can imagine a more painful situation.” Oliver rubbed the mark that was slightly swollen due to being infected. “If I give up on my principles here to escape pain… I can no longer believe in myself.”

If there was really a day when he needed to kill Nemo with his own hands, it would be hundreds of times more painful than it was now, but if things really got to that point, he would be able to do it. On the basis of that promise, the current Nemo could have the qualifications to live a stable life under the presiding eyes of the knight commander.

Indeed. If he couldn’t even bear the pain now, how could he believe that he could “kill Nemo”?

“If I can’t believe in myself, how can I convince others to believe in me?”

He must hold on to his bottom line. There was no other choice. After all, he and Mr. Cross had made an agreement.

“Then go to hell,” Mora’s voice was icy and calm. “If you continue to weaken… Anyone worth over a hundred can kill you.”

“I know,” Oliver said, pulling the sword out of its scabbard. He could already smell the blood that seemed to never dissipate on the field. “But I’m still alive.”

The female assassin disguised as a warden sneered softly, sounding irritable, “You don’t know what’s good from bad*.”

*(不知好歹) Idiom referring to not being able to understand the kindness of others from Zheng Tingyu’s “Golden Phoenix Hairpin”. || Basically she’s admonishing him for not recognizing her good intentions (advice to kill and survive).

Oliver bowed slightly to her and carried his sword into the vast arena. The huge wooden door embedded with metal closed quietly behind him.

The arena was deeper underground.

“Have you heard of the kid who insists on tying?” A member of the Gatekeepers in a red robe pushed his glasses up. “The bones are hard enough. Do you want to deal with it?”

“That’s something you need to worry about in the combat zone. Why are you concerned when you’re in the management of the test zone,” another man wearing the same robe cackled.

“His collar reading is amazing. Didn’t you see? That kid is generally not strong, but looking at his willpower, maybe it could be great material.”

“Let’s not talk about whether he can hold on. Even if he holds on, do you remember the previous failure? There’s not much room left in the blood furnace, so we have to be cautious.”

“Let that lunatic try him? I’m going to make a bet with the man in the combat zone. If he kills that lunatic, then it just goes according to the will of the combat zone… But if he’s killed by that lunatic, we’ll go and get the body.”

“…What if he doesn’t kill the lunatic and he’s not dead yet?” A new voice joined them. A sloppy middle-aged man stretched out his hand from the pile of books and waved weakly. “You’re too absolute.”

“How is it possible?” The man wearing glasses shouted. “Then all the more reason to bring him over—but how could you say such illogical things? It’s not like you, Tela.”

“Well,” the middle-aged man who was paralyzed in the pile of books responded carelessly, “I fell asleep.”

No wonder. Telaranea looked at one of the several light screens at hand…

Out of interest, he had been silently paying attention to Oliver Ramon’s data. It didn’t take long for him to make an extremely interesting discovery. If it were in the past, Telaranea would definitely be the first to jump up and dissect Ramon’s body.

But considering Vance’s strange attitude towards Nemo Light, coupled with a vague premonition, Telaranea didn’t want to get involved in this matter too actively. If he wanted to start things, he should let others lead the way. In the end, he would still be able to study it himself.

He glanced at the beating runes and flashing images on the screen again. There was no doubt that Oliver Ramon’s heart bore traces of a curse, which was unique to the Trent Plague. As far as the data was concerned, the curse had existed for at least twenty years.

A human heart shouldn’t be able to bear such a thing. The Trent Plague would invade the human body from the heart, first destroying the brain, then slowly eroding the nerves and paralyzing the internal organs. Although Ramon’s body was weak right now, he was definitely healthy. It was just that his heartbeat was completely different from normal humans…

It was like some kind of external force was forcing it to beat.

It was the first time he had seen a human who had survived the Trent Plague, a terminal disease born from the curse of the Abyss that had disappeared for hundreds of years.

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The author has something to say:

…No, anyway, I’ll lie flat first.

Lost the desire to survive x 1

Today’s warm tip: Trent Plague appeared in the Abyssal Church arc. It’s the disease suffered by Colestoro’s host.

————————

Tela: I have a bad hunch, so I’ll let the fools come out first.

Many years later.

Tela: That was the most correct and best decision of my life!!!

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

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Chapter 130: The Stars

The streets at midnight in the central city weren’t quiet. The curfew time here was late, and the drunk men were still singing songs on the side of the road, while other men were hurriedly delivering goods in small wooden carts. The aftermath of the warning spell had calmed down. There weren’t any screams or shouts from nowhere, and the Knights of Judgment gradually withdrew from the public areas where people were concentrated.

After all, this was still Garland. Unsure whether it was out of concern for the relationship between Garland and Alban or if he couldn’t bear to sacrifice the people of Kenyatta for a prop, Alban’s Preceptor Bishop finally gave up resistance.

Aurorae’s living armor squirmed and crawled down his body, forming a slightly trembling ball of meat. Aurorae—or rather, Vance Talbott at this moment was gently pulling his long gray hair. He hung the armor mass on his big sword at random, and then waved the big sword. The twisted weapon immediately disappeared into the cool air.

Now that he was empty-handed, he looked extremely harmless.

Vance took out a waiter’s white gloves from his pocket, carefully slid his fingers into the soft fabric, and then took out the crystal ball he had just gotten. After leaving the gorgeous silk cushion, the lone crystal ball looked like an ordinary ornament in a jewelry shop’s window.

He stared at the bone jade embedded in it for a while before he lowered his eyes…

Sure enough, this thing was still unfinished, and it could only monitor magic that had been activated. If the dangerous black figure deliberately didn’t use magic, he couldn’t use it to find him.

Vance shook his head, clutched the small crystal ball in his palm, and finally paid attention to the flashing communication crystal.

“Telaranea,” he wasn’t wordy in his speech, “I need your support.”

“…Okay, okay. Although I’m looking for you for something else, you can speak first.”

“I remember you have a body on the Gatekeepers’ side. I need their technology to transform the exploration crystal made by the Laddism Church.”

“You finally want to open up! I said a long time ago, if you’re willing to use bone jade, your efficiency will be…”

“Shut up.”

“Tsk! I’m just trying to help. Are you in Kenyatta? My nearest body to you is in Roadside Town, the Steel Wolf Mercenary Group. We can meet in Noer and you can just give me the thing.”

“Okay.”

“Now my side… Do you remember that strange demon warlock, Nemo Light? You asked me to keep an eye on him.”

“Did he do anything that needs to be eliminated?”

“No, but their leader seems to have fallen into the hands of the Gatekeepers.” The voice on the other side of the crystal sounded a bit emotional. “I checked the mission records. What a coincidence. At that time, their team was active near the Abyssal Church.”

Vance was silent.

“Well, I know you don’t like humans, but that kid still has the power of a Demon King. Have you forgotten? I don’t think it’s a coincidence that they appeared there. If he plans to defect to the Abyssal Church—”

“I said we don’t need to get him back specifically. Haven’t you learned your lesson in Hailem?”

Telaranea gave a loud tsk on the other side. “Seriously. What is your obsession with the ‘Demon King’? Even a kid that carries a little power has to be taken care of… Vance, have you been hiding any information from me?”

The man with the long white hair coldly terminated the communication. He put the communication crystal into the deepest part of his pocket and walked out of a dilapidated alley. The Laddism Church exploration crystal ball was still tightly squeezed in his right hand, and the warm touch seeped through the fabric and penetrated the demon’s cold skin.

‘There’s no obsession,’ the demon thought. What he embraced wasn’t so much an obsession but rather a sense of guilt he couldn’t get rid of. Vance gave a rare wry smile, raised his head, and looked back at the clock tower in disrepair in front of him. The mottled stone bricks looked blurry in the night, like a silt-filled riverbed under dirty water.

Vance Talbott pressed the crystal against his chest. He could feel the bone jade continuously emitting heat into the crystal.

After the Demon King was “killed”, his body would be swallowed by the Abyss almost at the same time. The huge corpse will turn into a dark, thick liquid and gradually dissipate at the bottom of the Abyss. After that, the crusading army was free to search for overgrown bone jade in the Demon King’s lair. Humans didn’t know why it appeared, but they could always find such a small flowing mineral deposit.

It was like a gift.

Vance knew that it was the bones of the Demon King spitting out from the bottom of the Abyss.

The same was true for the previous generation, with only one difference. Flint Lopez cut off the Demon King’s head. He didn’t know how, but he saved it from being swallowed by the Abyss and even took it out to the surface. Humans haven’t discovered the relationship between that skull and the bone jade. This only proved one thing. The Demon King was unwilling to give power to his bones at that time.

I’m an idiot. Vance held the crystal close to his chest and could feel the dark anger rushing straight to his brain. He was so trusting and optimistic about that kid at the beginning. He didn’t even hesitate to become Lopez’s mentor and teach him in person, hoping to make the Demon King sleep longer. However, in the end, Lopez was no different from most humans. In conclusion, he was just another greedy and vain pile of waste.

That human must not know how much trouble he had caused just for meaningless “spoils”. Flint Lopez pushed the surface and the Abyss to the edge of destruction at the same time.

After adjusting his breathing for a while, Vance quickly stabilized his emotions and took a step towards the corner of the city. How ironic. It was a warrior that was carefully cultivated by him and sent to the Demon King to put him to sleep with his own hands, but he did that kind of unforgivable idiotic thing.

In the end, the student he had personally taught had destroyed the Demon King in the cruelest way.

……And ruined his father.

It was a pity that Flint Lopez was very low-key after the expedition. Before he had time to find the bastard, Lopez was one step ahead and had disappeared from the public’s view.

To this day, he still inquired about Lopez’s news. If he could still kill the human with his own hands…

Vance Talbott continued to move forward without blinking as he passed by a group of pedestrians wearing cloaks and leading a fuller goat. The moment he passed the goat, Vance noticed a trace of magic fluctuation, as if the aura of a superior demon came from the team.

But the aura was fleeting and only a bird’s hair fell to the ground.

Logically, no superior demon could hide their aura in front of him. Perhaps it was his imagination, he thought to himself, and once again turned his gaze in the direction of his original goal.

Less than half an hour ago.

Ann stared at the blood-seeping tooth mark on the knight’s long neck in disbelief. Although the monk’s uniform had a high collar that had been buttoned up, part of the tooth mark and the edges of a hickey were still exposed. She looked at Adrian up and down, then glanced at Jesse with horror in her eyes.

But when she spoke, it was all about business.

“Recently, the Insular Court had skipped part of their procedure.” The female warrior’s expression became serious. “First, they’ll sell people and then go through the formalities. Because no one paid attention, this news has been suppressed all this time. If Oliver is unfortunate…”

Nemo stared at Ann’s mouth intently, as if intending to forcefully drag out the next words from her mouth with his eyes.

“We just heard some news,” the knight commander interrupted Ann’s words, as if he didn’t care about the marks on his neck. “The Mooney Sect captured a Knight of Silence from Alban alive and was bought by the Gatekeepers.”

Ann kicked the broken wooden boxes that were piled up in the alley.

“Do they even ignore evidence now? The Knight of Silence cannot be captured alive! They can’t commit perjury even in the Insular Court—” she screamed angrily. Her breathing became short. “Hell, chances are it’s most likely Oliver.”

“Maybe it was the Gatekeepers who got in the way. There’s also the possibility of it being a coincidence.” Adrian frowned. “We better make preparations.”

“Let’s go to the Noer branch right away. I have to ask that old bastard,” Ann murmured, clutching her arms tightly.

“What will happen to him?” Nemo asked as calmly as possible, trying to restrain the trembling in his voice. “Listening to your tone, this shouldn’t be the first time this kind of thing has happened.”

“According to what I heard, he should be sent to the mobile barracks after passing the screening and then to the Death Row Legion,” Ann said bitterly. “That makes sense. Oliver’s really powerful… If he’s really brainwashed into becoming a Death Row soldier, the price could be increased tenfold. And…”

She couldn’t talk anymore, and the sudden self-blame stuck in her throat.

“They screen soldiers by killing. Either kill or be killed.” Adrian’s face didn’t look good either. “If Mr. Ramon is really taken away by the Gatekeepers, things will get troublesome. No one knows where the mobile barracks are.”

“It seems their process hasn’t changed much,” Nemo heard himself say in a calm voice. He didn’t know how he managed to maintain his calm. His legs were cold and numb, but the blood suddenly became hot, burning his blood vessels and heart. “So if Ollie didn’t kill anyone, would he be sent to the Withered Castle? I have seen the information from the Abyssal Church, but it was recorded long ago.”

“…” The female warrior and the knight looked at each other for a long time, while Jesse crossed his arms. The expression on his face was unexpectedly blank.

“Yes,” Ann said hoarsely. “But Nemo, it’s for those who are eliminated. Oliver’s a smart man, and the people he’s fighting against are death row inmates. He won’t be stupid enough… I think he’s in the mobile barracks.”

“The Withered Castle is even more difficult to find than the mobile barracks. We don’t have time to spare to look for two places at the same time in what time we currently have,” Adrian sighed lightly. “Ms. Savage is right.”

“I know.” Nemo’s tone was still calm. His expression was blank, but his internal organs had already begun to turn upside down, as if a pair of invisible hands were tearing his lungs apart. “Ollie will definitely figure out his current situation. He will make the most reasonable choice, but I don’t think he will kill for himself.”

“Ollie will never do that. Our goal is the Withered Castle, not the mobile barracks,” Nemo said clearly.

Adrian looked at him quietly, while the female warrior pursed her lips bitterly.

“Nemo, I know you believe in him, but a place like the Withered Castle…”

“There are only two kinds of people who can leave the Withered Castle—the dead and the murderous,” Nemo said softly. He showed signs of being lost, but his tone was hard. “I know, but I believe he’ll hold on.”

“He must be in the Withered Castle and will not leave,” Nemo repeated.

“Nemo…” Ann tried to interrupt his words.

She wasn’t sure if she should support Nemo’s idea. Although Oliver studied under Adrian for a while, his willpower wasn’t as good as that of a soldier who had lived in the army for a long time. After all, it had been just a few months, and he was originally just an ordinary small town resident.

Although she didn’t know much about the Withered Castle, the information she did know was enough for her to make a judgment. Even if Nemo was a fake superior demon, he still lacked experience. Although he and Oliver have gone through a lot, truthfully, they haven’t encountered such a cruel situation like this before.

It was too easy to destroy a person.

People tended to choose kindness in a relatively stable condition, and once that stability was broken, there were few who could persevere. Take away strength, take away dignity, take away hope—what remained may be the essence of what was considered “human”.

How much of Oliver’s previous goodwill was based on his own powerful strength?

Ann didn’t dare give a definite answer. This answer may only be known to Oliver himself. She wanted to stand up for Nemo from the bottom of her heart, but once he found that Oliver wasn’t in the Withered Castle, Nemo…

“Take a step back. If Ollie is really in the mobile barracks, then with his strength, he could afford to wait.” As if seeing Ann’s concerns, Nemo’s face paled and his tone became crueler. “But the Withered Castle is different. I must find him as soon as possible. Is this good enough of a reason?”

Ann trembled and exhaled, closing her eyes.

Nemo turned to Jesse Dylan, who hadn’t said a word. “Dylan, where is the Withered Castle?”

“I do not know.” Jesse shrugged, not smiling.

“You’re a diviner.”

“The essence of prophesizing is intelligence-based predictions.” The blond young man spread out his hands. “I can evaluate a person’s value and tell you what things are extremely likely to happen, but simple information is too random… Sorry, I can’t do it.”

“Then I’ll find it.” Nemo didn’t hesitate. He didn’t have time to be disappointed.

“I’ll contact Virgil,” Adrian nodded without saying much. “He has some connections and should be able to help. Did you gain anything tonight?”

“I already know who summoned that Deadwood Jellyfish, but I may not have time to go back… Those charges… If you can, can I please ask you to handle it?” There wasn’t much time now. Not to mention anything else, at least Jesse Dylan should be able to cope with the changes in Roadside Town.

His stomach felt like a burning piece of charcoal was stuffed into it. He didn’t want to waste a single second any longer.

“You have to go back, Light. It will only have the opposite effect on that ‘mutation’.” This time, Jesse’s frivolous tone completely disappeared. He looked at Nemo with incomprehensible eyes. He thought for a moment and finally knocked on his head as if he couldn’t help it. “Although I don’t know the location of the Withered Castle, I have one thing to tell you.”

“You may not find where the Withered Castle is, but you can find the star that belongs to Ramon.” The beautiful blond young man spoke without using honorifics*. “You know what I’m talking about.”

*Clarity: Often times, they speak using the polite form of “you”. There’s no direct translation for this kind of thing in English, so just note that when honorifics are being mentioned, it’s referring to this.

“But Ollie is a pure human being.” Nemo stared at him. “I can’t detect him.”

“Alright, listen to me. You have to figure this out yourself.” Jesse curled his lips. “The demon cocoon in Roadside Town can help. If you figure out its situation, you can find your little pet. It’s not that I don’t want to tell you, but this thing is like muscle memory. I can’t teach you how to do it.”

“And a small reminder… That’s not detection magic. Think about the reason why you couldn’t use spells in the first place. Just think about it.”

---

The author has something to say:

Nemo just has a hobby of raising small animals. Such as little demons, such as little humans. (Debby: …)

————————

Oliver: My boyfriend is the father of my father’s mentor— (broken voice)

Nemo: I’m not, I’m not! I don’t know anything! (Broken sound)

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Kinky Thoughts:

So many bombshells being dropped in this arc, it’s like a warzone and more is yet to come!

To clarify, the Demon King is Aurorae’s father. Aurorae was Oliver’s dad’s mentor, who trained him in hopes that he would slay the Demon King in a way that could make him sleep longer.

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

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Chapter 129: The Dark Omen

Ann led the fuller goat through the dark alley. She pulled the hood over her head. The wide, thin cloak and the tall figure made it difficult to guess the gender at a glance. Although Kenyatta’s public security was average, it was best to have one less thing to worry about.

Her companions weren’t around, and for the first time, her face showed traces of bitterness.

Nemo didn’t blame her. Not even a hint of unhappiness was revealed.

Strictly speaking, her responsibility wasn’t large. The surveillance bug, like its name, was not specifically bred to find people, but it was indisputable that Oliver disappeared within her reach. Whether as a member of Tumbleweed or as a senior with more mission experience, she couldn’t help blaming herself and falling into self-guilt.

If one’s beloved were to disappear directly in front of another companion, even if they knew it wasn’t the other party’s fault, Ann didn’t think she could continue to get along amicably with the other party as if nothing had happened. She would at least lose her temper, exchange a few harsh words, and vent the pain in her heart.

But she could see that Nemo was even cautious around her, as if he was afraid she would blame herself more for it, or become afraid of him.

This only made Ann sadder.

If something really happened to Oliver, she didn’t think she could come out as unphased as before. After making sure no one was around, Ann knocked on the black badge, called up the light screen, and glared at the series of tasks she had released again. Unlike Cross, who was cash-strapped, she spent money on an instant notification service. The money in her private account was decreasing at an avalanching rate.

This was the property she had saved for nearly twenty years, but she was in no mood to care anymore.

The black badge on her chest quietly pulled her, and the feedback for another task arrived. After making sure no one was around, Ann glanced at the dense text and her back stiffened. She meditated for a moment, took out a communication crystal, and just when she hesitated to contact the other side first, the sky was illuminated by the warning spell of the Laddism Church…

Ann recognized the spell and it helped make her choice.

Nemo took out the gleaming crystal in his pocket. The vulture-like demon worshiper in front of him had fallen to the ground by now, sleeping unknowingly.

After getting the information he wanted, he quickly wiped the other’s memory of himself and spread out his perception in an instant. Strangely, no enemy was approaching his position. In their team, in addition to himself, there was probably only one other person, the former knight commander, who could make this kind of move.

He nervously took out the crystal and quickly walked out the door.

“Mr. Cross?”

“Are you okay?!” It was a slightly low female voice that sounded on the opposite side. Ann sounded quite anxious. “That’s the warning light from the Laddism Church. They must’ve discovered a superior demon or demon warlock. Are there any suspicious people near you? No, no. Right now, get out of there first—”

“I’m fine,” Nemo immediately replied, and at the same time, breathed a sigh of relief. “Besides this, could it be that they found Mr. Cross?”

“No. If it’s Cross, they’ll issue a summoning order,” Ann sounded relieved. “But Nemo, you’d better hurry back… I have something to discuss with you. I’m next to the clock tower in the southwest corner. I’ll contact Cross. There are people at the bishop level here. We can’t risk staying here too long.”

“But there are no demon warlocks or superior demons here.” Nemo closed the door behind him and once again concealed his face in the dark shadows. He jumped onto the roof and began to sprint in the direction of the bell tower. The gray parrot parked on the roof spread its wings and followed him closely. “I… Uh, explored it. Do you really don’t need me to go to Mr. Cross now?”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.” Nemo closed his eyes again, letting the fast-moving air blow across his cheeks. That little “starry sky” spread out again, still dim… No.

Leaving aside Bagelmaurus, who he knew about, a very bright star appeared in his mind. It wasn’t far from him and was showing the location of where it was going to appear.

What’s going on?

“…No. There’s indeed a superior demon in the city now.” Nemo quickly corrected his statement, but the movement under his feet didn’t delay. “It should have appeared at least half an hour ago.”

He failed to find out in time. Nemo’s back was sweating coldly. After confirming his identity, he relaxed a lot in terms of defense, and it was this slack that caused unnecessary confusion among his companions.

Nemo gritted his teeth and tried to expand the scope of the starry sky in his mind, but his perception seemed to be blocked by something. The closer he got to the edge of the area, the more blurred the “stars” became. If he wanted to be flawless, he could perceive at most all creatures related to the Abyss within a radius of more than 200 kilometers.

The feeling was shocking, like asking him to abandon the focus on his field of vision and gaze at living creatures far apart at the same time. It made his brain feel uncomfortable, as if it was being stirred by an external force.

His cognition was restraining him.

Nemo clenched his lower lip and stopped in front of the bell tower. Although he knew what the stars in his mind represented, he didn’t know the principle. After all, no recorded demon possessed this ability, and he had to figure out why they appeared as soon as possible.

…After he successfully rescued Oliver from the Insular Court.

Nemo saw the figure of the female warrior and he knew instantly who it was. His nose was much more sensitive than before, and he could easily smell the faint scent of thyme on her body.

“There’s nothing wrong with Cross.” Ann glanced at him, as if to confirm whether he was missing any limbs. “They are on their way.”

Kenyatta Central City.

The Preceptor Bishop Felix Waldron was indeed in a bad mood, the kind that made people worried.

Dealing with the group of believers from the Mooney Sect was already annoying enough. Due to the sensitivity of the situation, they had to take care of the young people like fragile porcelain while they were delirious, so as not to provoke those from the Mooney Sect. When the situation of the Abyssal Church deteriorated, he was distracted by dealing with such trivial matters, which particularly annoyed him.

If it weren’t for the fact that they happened to be transferred to Roadside Town, he would never have personally escorted these children himself. The bishop paced back and forth in the room, looking at the crystal ball in the center from time to time.

‘What time is it?’ he thought in a daze. A strong enemy was likely to emerge, and humans were still worrying about these red tapes while others were fighting over pieces of land. Felix really wanted to shake those Alban nobles dizzy and wake them up…

Indeed. With the chaos inside Alban everything began to go awry. The headquarters of the Abyssal Church collapsed inexplicably, and everything that followed was difficult to explain with common sense. It was said that the Devil of the Abyssal Church itself, the main force of the Abyssal Church, Hagen Ingram, one of the twelve bishops, died in that incident.

But to the credit of any surface religion, as the church collapsed, the things that ran out didn’t look like they were on their side. The Preceptor Bishop of Alban was nearly 50 years old, and when he recalled the sudden sense of oppression, he still shuddered uncontrollably.

If that was the legendary superior demon of the Abyssal Church…

He didn’t dare to think about it anymore. Ordinary superior demons were not as powerful as that. There was no doubt that that thing was stronger than Aurorae, and there was still no movement after it slipped away. If it really wanted to, he wasn’t sure whether the current unsuspecting human countries could hold up.

Felix, at that time, didn’t hesitate. He sent a notice to the Central Holy Church as quickly as possible for the first time after he left. Now the news should have reached the Pope’s ears—but before the Pope’s instructions arrived, the black figure already had a name among the Knights of Judgment.

They call it the “dark omen”.

The dark omen was quite appropriate. Felix sighed melancholically as he leaned closer to the crystal ball at the center of the table. The crystal ball wasn’t too big. He could hold most of it with one hand. At that moment, it was lying quietly on a silk cushion. The crystal ball was close to dark blue, and a small piece of carefully carved white bone jade was embedded at the top, which would light up from time to time.

It could detect the magical reactions of the Abyss within a radius of ten kilometers, which made it extremely expensive. If it weren’t for the crusade against the Abyssal Church, he wouldn’t be able to hold one for this long with just his authority. Originally, he felt sorry for this, but unexpectedly, a wave of unfinished business had started again. The task of Roadside Town would follow immediately.

He changed his mind. Felix touched the warm crystal ball gloomily. If the world could be more peaceful, he wished he would never see this thing again for the rest of his life.

A very strong spot of light suddenly appeared in the crystal ball, then the sound of rubbing flesh made his scalp go numb.

It was the reaction of a superior demon.

Felix made a quick decision, waved one hand out the window, and directly sent out a warning spell…

The safety of the people in the city came first.

After making sure that the spell was completed, he set up his shield and looked at the superior demon in front of him. To his surprise, the uninvited guest was no stranger to him.

The legendary demon slayer stood in front of him in twisted and squirming armor, wielding a large sword that looked like a corpse.

Felix didn’t know how to react for a moment. Aurorae had never been exposed to any religion before. It wasn’t so much non-contact and it was better to say that he didn’t put them in his eyes at all. This ancient demon must have known they had been observing him, but he never cared, just as people didn’t care about the gaze of jumping spiders in the corner.

“This thing.” The demon picked up the crystal ball on the table and weighed it in his palm. “I’m taking it.”

In just one sentence, the large room was filled with Knights of Judgment who had come to support. It was just that, in the face of this familiar yet strange opponent, everyone wasn’t sure how to react. They all looked at the Preceptor Bishop.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Aurorae…” Felix raised his chest and gritted out the honorifics between his teeth before making a gesture. “It’s very important to us.”

“Really?” The demon’s tone didn’t fluctuate. “I’m just here for a greeting, and I didn’t ask for your permission.”

Felix made a gesture, and the Knights of Judgment leaned forward. The metal armor collided, making light crashing noises.

“Are you sure?” Aurorae grabbed the crystal ball with one hand while the other clenched the hilt of his big sword. “Felix Waldron, your troops are indeed qualified to fight me… but our battle will certainly destroy this city.”

There was even a contemptuous smile in the demon’s tone, “and this is just a small detection prop, which could only detect my compatriots.”

“There’s bone jade in it.” Felix’s face tightened. “You must know this.”

Not to mention the bone jade itself, the associated stone of the bone jade alone could turn ordinary surface spells into abyssal attributes. The bone jade retrieved by the crusading army often needed to be processed in accordance with extremely strict regulations and then divided up by the royal families of each country. No one could explain the specific origin of this previous resource, but even the Demon King’s skull, retrieved by the previous generation of crusaders, the power contained in it wasn’t as powerful as bone jade.

It could not only be used as a conversion medium and energy core in all kinds of expensive magic props, but was also an excellent material for making destructive weapons. Let alone demons, they couldn’t even allow it to fall into the hands of ordinary humans.

Although the size of this bone jade was indeed not worth mentioning, it had undergone irreversible processing and was difficult to apply to other aspects. Still…

“If what I want is this thing, I could easily grab it from those fragile royal families.” Aurorae rubbed the white round bead the size of a grain of wheat on the top of the crystal. “…I’m not interested in this thing.”

“Why?” The movements of the Preceptor Bishop’s fingers moved faster, and one by one, defensive arrays encircled the room. “You have been walking around the world for a long time. It’s impossible for you to need such a detection prop until now.”

“Because I didn’t want to use it before?” Aurorae replied nonchalantly and pressed against the defensive array casually. The array made a sound like glass shattering and was instantly damaged. “Even if our moral standards are completely different from yours…”

The orange eyes flashed coldly from behind the helmet.

“Making one’s parents’ bodies into tools to be used freely… This kind of thing… Humans can’t easily do.”

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

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Chapter 128: Happy Cooperation

The flames of the bonfire in the center of the site burned extremely high, and the dry and cracked firewood made a series of crisp noises in the flames. The unique smell of wood burning filled the night breeze, making the summer night that was already warm hotter. People were dancing, and they sprinkled the grass with the exaggerated clinking movements of their glasses, spilling the inferior liquid that had a sour taste. The men made loud noises, while the ladies picked up their skirts and twirled around, while the children screamed and bumped in between people.

Adrian originally thought that what was waiting for him would be a relatively quiet tavern, not a lively bonfire party.

Jesse opened his coat, loosened his tied blond hair, and pulled his arm very freely into the crowd. He rushed all the way to the edge of the bonfire, picked up two glasses of fruit wine that smelled a bit pungent, and briskly threw down a few coins.

“Yours.” He put the dirty wooden wine glass into Adrian’s hand; his fingers were wet with wine. “You’re welcome—”

The former knight commander looked down and saw fine grass clippings floating in the muddy liquor. As if he hadn’t seen it, Jesse drank most of the glass happily, and then began to scour the crowd, trying to find himself a snack.

Adrian took a sip and stared firmly at the blond-shining hair in the night. He didn’t know if Jesse deliberately chose this kind of occasion. The overly warm and relaxed atmosphere here made him a little confused, and he didn’t know where to start.

Adrian Cross had met many people. It stood to reason that it was difficult for people to wash away the influence of their origins. No matter how their circumstances had changed, there was always a trace of the past in their bones. He was good at grabbing clues, using them as a foundation, and slowly figuring out the person in front of him.

Except for this one.

He couldn’t find where the other party had come from, and Jesse Dylan could prose any accent when he was happy. He was as slippery as a loach, always avoiding tests against himself, and didn’t seem to get angry about anything. To be honest, Adrian could perceive Oliver’s and Ann’s vigilance against Jesse. Disregarding Ann, even Oliver’s, who always seemed to be good-tempered, alertness against him was a bit too unnatural.

Now that he thought about it, it could be something like a strong intuition.

He had to deal with Nemo Light and knew Nemo’s identity. No matter what Nemo’s true body was, Nemo was undoubtedly an extremely strong superior demon, so Jesse Dylan, as a trading partner, certainly wouldn’t be weak either. Considering that Nemo doesn’t know anything about Jesse…

Only a fool would believe that this guy was really only twenty-seven years old.

Did he make a wish too? Adrian stared at the light blue figure. What is his wish?

This would make sense. If a person lived long enough—long enough to completely forget their past—this unpredictable style could appear, but there was one thing that was unnatural. There was only one thing. Human desires tend to become thinner and clearer as they grow older. This wasn’t the case with Jesse Dylan. He had a subtle attitude towards mastering everything and was full of luster.

Adrian walked to a tree on the edge of the venue, took a sip of wine slowly, and wiped away the grass clippings from his lips. What happened not long ago seemed to be shaking before his eyes.

It was before the collapse of the Church of Silence. The young sacrifices were huddled in two groups in cages. Even at this moment, they still maintained strict boundaries. It was bad to catch people at the junction between the three kingdoms. It was hard to determine the side of the believers they were catching.

The believers from the Laddism Church huddled on the left side of the cage, uttering prayers from their mouths, while the people from the Mooney Sect gathered in a group on the other side, making complex prayer gestures with their hands. They were safe but clearly separated.

“I have seen this scene at least 100,000 times,” Jesse muttered.

“I can use a teleportation spell to get them out. It’s just that this place is too big. If it happens to collapse…”

“—Or get stuck in a tree. Wouldn’t that be fun?” The blond young man winked.

“You have an idea, don’t you?” Adrian didn’t have the slightest intention of joking with him. “You just promised Mr. Light to send them away. That doesn’t sound like a lie.”

“Of course, of course,” Jesse sighed while turning his back to the cage. “You’re such a party pooper. I still wanted to scare these unlucky guys.” He knocked on the cage unceremoniously, interrupting the trembling prayers of the sacrifices.

The young people of the Laddism Church raised their heads and their eyes swept across Adrian’s monk uniform, and suddenly they brightened up a bit. When those hopeful glances swept across the spot where the emblem should have been, they were quickly replaced by an ugly stitching, and the hope faded just as quickly.

The believers from the Mooney Sect just turned their heads and looked at the two of them before they continued to pray with their complex gestures. People’s low and vague voices diffused out of the cage, leaving a mix of humming in the fragrant air.

No one asked for help. People retracted their gaze and stared at a certain point in the air that didn’t exist and continued to pray and chant.

“Drugs.” Adrian quickly made a judgment.

“It’s not a strong drug.” Jesse shrugged and turned in the direction of the cage. “Seriously, admit it. You’re not a ‘hero’ in line with their fantasy. You should learn from dear Nemo—it’s time for you to change your clothes.”

The people raised their heads again in a daze, but this time the hope in their eyes didn’t go out. Someone even stretched out his hand from the gap of the cage and caught a strand of Jesse’s blond hair.

“Zenni’s messenger…” the young man said in a daze as he stared into Jesse’s eyes. “It’s Zenni’s messenger.”

“No, it’s not. Ouch!” Jesse curled his lips and pulled back his hair in distress.

“The traitor who lost the holy emblem!” When Adrian stretched out his hand, the man let out a nervous scream.

“You see, this is their truth.”

“They’re delirious.”

“But that’s the truth.”

“…” Adrian looked at the noisy blond young man helplessly. “Okay, be honest. It’s time for you to save them now. We have limited time.”

Jesse stared at him angrily.

“Why should I compete with a young man who has been drugged?” Adrian added, feeling from the bottom of his heart that it was a little childish for the other party to seize all opportunities to poke him. He even wanted to laugh.

“Fine,” Jesse shouted. “I’ll give you the coordinates. You have to be aware that it may directly lead to death—”

“Coordinates,” Adrian responded calmly.

Jesse smacked his mouth, and after just a few seconds, the smile returned to that beautiful face. He threw out a string of coordinates into the air. “Just saying, don’t blame me for not reminding you.”

Adrian didn’t say much and directly drew the coordinates into the array. While the white light flowed from his fingertips, he could feel Jesse’s powers flowing into his body along with the blood marks on the back of his neck. The power felt even warm.

The white light dissipated, and there was no one left in the cell.

“You believe me just like that?” Jesse’s brows raised high, and the smile on his face became more pronounced.

In fact, Adrian had envisioned several bad endings for a second, but now that he knew the strength of his opponent, he didn’t want to waste too much time with these twists and turns. If Jesse Dylan wanted to go against him, there was nothing he could do.

This was a logical and rational inference. Personal feelings would only delay time and interfere with his judgment.

This was also something his teacher, Mr. Mercer, was very dissatisfied with. This was what he had never figured out. The acting style of being completely loyal to reason was very suitable for his position at that time. It could keep him sober and rational, so that he wouldn’t be unable to grab the hilt of the sword because he was blinded by his personal affairs.

Abide by principles, fulfill promises, and look forward to glory. This was Adrian Cross’ whole life, and now the journey was nothing more than two points now—atonement and keeping his promises. He promised Mrs. Edwards to live, so he would try to live until his body decayed.

“This is not ‘living’, my child.” His teacher once told him that.

Adrian emptied the glass and pulled himself out of his memories. Jesse Dylan had returned from the crowd. The empty wine glass was now full of honey, and his hand was full, holding various snacks. Even though his mouth was stuffed, there were traces of cookie crumbs and yellow sugar around it.

That beautiful face was in high spirits, as if he had just won a big battle.

When Adrian discovered the location he sent the sacrifices, this was the same expression that the wicked diviner had on his face. Jesse Dylan did a cruel thing—he threw the sacrifices into the ranks of the opposing religions, even though the knights from the Laddism Church and the Mooney Sect were nearby. He was overjoyed at the frozen expression of the former knight commander, as if it was the funniest thing in the world…

He seemed to despise everything in the world, but with simple and fierce enthusiasm.

He may never guess what this person could do, just as he couldn’t predict that he would save the land of Hailem. Adrian shook his head and silently decided to push his inquiry away. He turned his face and refused to look at the other party’s mouth, which was full of snacks.

“I say,” Jesse swallowed the cookie in his mouth and picked up a piece of honey dessert while giving off an angry expression, “This is our first date. Can you be more enthusiastic? You see, if you continue to be so cold, I could be snatched away!”

The blond young man casually pointed his fingers behind his back. Several girls had stopped dancing and were whispering into each other’s ears, looking at each other with flushed faces.

Adrian looked calm and continued to lean on the tree on the edge of the field. “How nice.”

“Nice? What about over there?” Jesse raised his voice, increasing the strength of his movements, and almost threw away the snacks in his hand.

Adrian looked at his honey-stained fingers, and his whole body tensed in an instant. Not far away, two Knights of Judgment were standing on the edge of the crowd talking in a low voice. One of them was looking this way, and he seemed to want to come over.

Why are the Knights of Judgment here?

The two Knights of Judgment seemed to have reached an agreement on something and walked directly in the direction of where they were. Whether it was taking out a weapon or fleeing, this distance would most likely arouse their vigilance. Adrian thought quickly and suddenly felt a burst of hot air that was unsuspectingly blown into his ears.

Jesse pressed him directly against the tree. His beautiful face was tightly pressed to the side of his face. The blond young man’s figure didn’t seem strong, but it was slender and powerful. The blond hair shook slightly with the night breeze, covering the iconic three leather buckles on the monk’s uniform.

“Look.” Jesse’s voice came from very close to his ears. The warm breath brushed against his ears, causing a tingling sensation. “You need me very much right now.”

“You didn’t wash your hands.” Adrian lowered his eyes and glanced at the other party’s fingers on his chest.

Jesse suddenly jerked back his head and looked at him in disbelief. “Don’t you have any other feelings?”

After that, he got up again, angrily, and started moving his hand like he was doing a demonstration. His honey-stained fingers dexterously slid open the tight neckline of the monk’s uniform and then snaked all the way down…

“How is it?” Although the blond young man’s stroking technique was very old-fashioned, there was no frivolity in his voice.

“They hesitated,” Adrian responded in a low voice, ignoring the hand that was stroking the skin on his chest. “But they are still looking over here.”

“It’s close enough. Can you read their lips?” Jesse turned his head and bit Adrian’s neck. His voice was ambiguous. The strength he used wasn’t weak, and the knight commander could feel the blood slowly oozing from the wound. “…You can definitely see what they are talking about.”

“They are saying, ‘Well that can’t be Adrian Cross.’” Adrian inserted his fingers into Jesse’s soft blond hair. His dark brown eyes were as calm as ice. “But they’re not leaving.”

“Thank them,” Jesse snorted, and licked the bleeding tooth mark on Adrian’s neck.

At this moment, the tightly buttoned monk’s clothes were completely opened, revealing the white lining and a large area of skin on his chest. It could no longer be discerned by its style at a glance. Adrian grabbed Jesse’s blond hair and pulled away the other’s face. From a distance, he seemed to be flirting, but his eyes stuck on the two Knights of Judgment like a hawk, without any intention of letting up.

“‘Lord Bishop is not in a good mood’,” Adrian put his face to the side of Jesse’s face and whispered in a low voice. “’I don’t know which bastard did it. Zenni should be on top, so why did they include the Moonies in it and stick them in the reserve team?’”

“’No way. The Abyss is ahead so they are considered temporary partners for the time being. We don’t have to send people over yet.’” Jesse put his hand into Adrian’s clothes and hooked his arm around the other’s thin waist and turned them slightly. “Yes, love. I can understand it too.”

“’In order to settle that group of people, I just lost a demon warlock. There’s still a demon warlock among the people. I hope it’s not an important role.’” Adrian’s voice sank. “…Did you do it on purpose?”

“Guess?”

“’Yeah, I finally caught a few Knights of Silence, but I didn’t keep any of them alive. On the contrary, the Mooney bastards caught one alive, so the Bishop must be angry.’” Adrian continued to try to read their lips. The Knights of Judgment seemed to be planning to leave and had begun to look away.

“’It’s said that he’s Albanian. We could have taken over and executed him… but it seems that the Gatekeepers intervened?’”

Adrian tightened his five fingers that were clasped on the back of Jesse’s neck, causing the latter to take in a deep breath. “So you like it rough!”

“That’s it for tonight, Dylan.” Adrian was still staring at the two pale backs that were particularly striking in the night. “We must confirm this information immediately.”

“Oh.” Seeing the Knights of Judgment walking away, Jesse took a step back and adjusted his clothes. “Well, I have to say, we had a particularly pleasant cooperation—”

He smiled proudly, but before the smile dispersed, a white spell broke through the night sky that was close to them.

“Enemy attack from the Abyss!” This time they didn’t need to read lips. The Knights of Judgment shouted vigilantly, and they drew their swords to protect the crowd. “Everyone, take refuge—”

“They said, ‘It’s the Bishop’s warning sign’—” After watching the lively scene, Jesse turned his head. His smile remained motionless, and he murmured what the knights had warned, “Love, they’re saying, ‘there’s a strong guy coming.'”

---

The author has something to say:

Jesse: Dating is really useful! Let’s make a few more appointments—

Adri: No.

---

Kinky Thoughts:

I had to fan myself from all this sexual tension between Adri and Jesse.

---

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

---

Chapter 127: Value

If only this scene was an illusion.

Oliver still looked away as he couldn’t bear to watch it any longer. The scene after the cage became more terrifying. There was no blood or pain, but a cold numbness. Those sophisticated metal instruments and arrays weren’t specially designed for malice. Every detail was full of calm organization, and everything was orderly.

There was no roar of pain or any look of resistance. Only a small cry subconsciously made by living things. The “common sense” in this castle seemed to have been redefined. It seemed that such treatment of humans was just a matter of fact, and there was no need to make any ideological struggle.

This should be deliberate. No matter what their intention was, they did succeed in destroying most of his positive emotions. Oliver began to stare at the ground. The gray and smooth stony ground was clearly illuminated by a pale light.

He counted the gaps in the stone bricks and moved his legs in the most efficient way, trying to accumulate the only remaining physical strength his mind had left.

The road full of torture was extremely long. He may have been walking for a hundred years before the incomplete guide in front of him stopped. Oliver, who was counting the cracks in the bricks, almost bumped into the man’s back.

The incomplete humanoid object turned around, and an arm that was no thicker than a bone shook for a while. A metal tag was drawn from the loose clothes—there was a shiny metal ring hanging at the end of the tag, half the size of a palm. Except for the long section of the thin chain between the ring and the tag, it was no different than those worn by the people in the cages just now.

The man threw the metal tag at Oliver randomly. The ring at the end of the tag moved like a living animal and got into Oliver’s collar through the gap in the armor. Then came the severe pain of his flesh being penetrated, accompanied by the feeling of warm blood flowing out of his skin. Just like those cages he encountered, it should have also encircled his clavicle.

The metal tag on the other end of the chain was still dangling in front of his armor, causing a fine noise of metal hitting metal.

“Take a good look at the tag,” the guide said, squeezing a broken voice out of his throat. “It doesn’t matter if you can’t read.”

Then the stone wall slid away.

Oliver was pushed in before he could see what was on the other side of the wall. He staggered a few steps under his feet, but in the end, he didn’t have the strength to maintain his balance and firmly fell to the ground, almost knocking off his skeleton helmet.

Then he heard breathing.

Despite his exhaustion, long-term combat training still left him with keen enough insight. Judging from the distance of the sound, this should be a very large room, accommodating at least fifty people or more. Their gaze came out of the dark corners, and Oliver could feel those eyes wandering on him. He didn’t choose to stand up immediately but clenched the hilt of his sword with his right hand and his muscles tightened.

However, apart from the aggravated breathing sound, no other sound was added to the space. No one approached him. They were patiently observing, like insects hiding in dark crevices.

Oliver finally stood up slowly and clenched the swaying tag. Through the faint light in the room, he could see most of the room clearly.

‘Like a tomb,’ was his first thought.

As narrow as the shelf used to hold dead bones, people laid in coffin-like cramped wooden frames. The shelf had about five layers of shelves, and the lower level was much emptier than the upper. Oliver raised his head slightly. There were also many people sitting against the wall, motionless, that he almost regarded them as stone statues.

There was no shortage of men, women, and children that were “stone statues”, but at first glance it looked dominated by men in their prime. Except for less than ten people wearing standard thin-cloth white robes, the rest of them had their own style of clothing, and the cold light of weapons leaked out from the darkness bit by bit from time to time. It seemed that they should be the same as him. He wasn’t asked to change into other clothes, nor was anything taken away.

They were staring at him together. Their slowly turning eyeballs resembled those carved out of a dark stone and were quite lifeless. Oliver swore that he smelled the stench of ulceration and a peculiar foul smell of pus.

Oliver took a careful breath. He walked around as quietly as possible, found a relatively empty corner, and stuffed his back into it. It was imperative to regain his strength and then make plans.

The beating heart that was like a pounding drum gradually stabilized. He could now hear the sour sucking sound of the live collar on his neck. Oliver tried to use the saved strength to cast a condensation spell, but the soft blue light didn’t light up at all and was accompanied by a raging pain despite such a weak spell.

This time, Oliver suppressed the pain and didn’t make a sound.

His throat was parched, and his brain was screaming with thirst. The dry air in the room aggravated his pain, and after a fierce battle, his thinking was becoming chaotic and slow due to the lack of water. How long has it been since he last drank water? One day? Two?

The instinctive anxiety of the body made him uncontrollably depressed.

This wouldn’t work. Oliver licked the corners of his biting mouth. In this terrible, unknown environment, negative emotions were like a dangerous swamp. Once he stepped in, there would be no ending other than sinking. He must keep his spirits up, but not out of some kind of ideal optimism. He could only do this. It was his only choice.

Even if all common sense was broken here, at least he still had emotions outside the influence of this hellhole. Oliver moved the sword to his left hand and used his right to remove the armor from his left forehand.

The transaction seal that Nemo had branded him had long since expired, and at this moment it had almost completely faded, leaving only a very pale white mark on his skin.

The edge of the black armor left a lot of fine gaps because of the battle. Oliver carefully broke off a thin piece of metal and cut his skin along the white traces. He paddled through the dim light, moving carefully until the weird mark reappeared in blood.

Then Oliver put his cracked lips against the wound and sucked the fresh blood. The thick blood made him nauseous, and Oliver knew that it would have no practical effect, but the blood flowing through his throat had a more or less soothing effect. He was finally able to concentrate again and started to think.

The metal sheet was so sharp that it didn’t leave too bad a wound under his control. The blood soon stopped pouring out and left only a slightly swollen mark behind.

After all this, Oliver closed his eyes, took a few deep breaths, and then clenched the slightly shaking metal tag with his blood-stained fingers.

On the front of the tag was a string of numbers written in the lingua franca; just 300,000. He didn’t know if the dim light made him hallucinate, as those strokes seemed to be trembling slightly. While looking at the long string of numbers, his fingers touched something uneven behind the metal tag.

Oliver frowned and turned the tag over. There were just a few words on the back of the tag. Their meaning transcended the words themselves and went directly into his mind…

If you win the specified battle, you can seize one hundred points from the enemy.

Killing others can get you one hundred points plus the value of the deceased.

People who have lost all their value and are still alive will be transferred to the test area for processing. Please be advised.

Oliver went silent for a long time. After a full half a minute, he released the metal tag, leaving only a few bloody fingerprints on it. He leaned his lips closer to the engraving again, but this time it wasn’t for blood…

He kissed it.

Then he raised his head and faced the projected eyes again.

“I’ll get out alive, Nemo,” he announced to himself. “…Get out of here alive in a way that won’t let you down.”

On the other side, at night in Kenyatta.

Nemo stood still on top of his target building, then slipped back to the ground along the darkest corner, moving as lightly as someone’s sleeping breath. He wanted to break through the fragile door directly, but the movement of his right hand stagnated for a moment in the night, and finally turned into a polite knock on the door.

The man who came to open the door wasn’t very tall. He looked about forty or fifty years old and was as thin as a malnourished vulture. There were obvious excessive bags under his eyes, and his eyes rolled up slightly, revealing parts of white as he stared at Nemo politely.

In order to avoid looking too unnatural, Nemo dissipated the dark shadows covering his face at this moment, revealing only his fair-skinned chin, but that was enough to make people see his age.

“What’s the matter, boy?” The man who opened the door asked impatiently.

“You’re a demon worshiper of the Abyssal Church, right?” Nemo asked in a polite tone, distorting his voice with a bit of magic. He had never liked the way of asking questions directly. Such questioning was a bit tough, so it was hard for him to control the words. Thus, he blurted everything out at that moment. “…Sir?”

The man’s pupils shrank. His hand had moved very fast before Nemo’s voice had stopped. When his gesture finished…

Nothing happened.

The big demon in the room didn’t obey his orders. It ran into the bottom of the table as if it was fleeing for its life and began to shiver uncontrollably. The table shook together as the legs trembled against the floor.

“It seems you are.” Nemo retracted his gaze from the direction of the table a little apologetically, and his speed of speech began to speed up uncontrollably. “I just want to ask a few questions and leave after asking.”

“I have nothing to say to people like you.” The man knew the situation wasn’t good. He bared his browned teeth and spit out a thick phlegm on the floor at Nemo’s feet. “Which false God are you the spokesperson for?”

“I really just want to ask a few questions.” Nemo stretched out a hand and the unique brilliance of abyssal magic lit up the whole room. It was dark at night, and the air in the nearby area was quiet and peaceful, but he became more restless for unknown reasons. “In a more polite way—”

The demon worshiper glanced at his own demon that was shaking more violently in horror. His gaze swept across the non-aggressive array, and finally stayed on the small half of Nemo’s face. He tried to find traces of obvious deformation, but he failed miserably. Then he realized a certain possibility.

“They… They dispatched a demon warlock, or…?” the tone of the demon worshiper instantly softened. “Which Bishop are you…”

If he spoke more, he would make more mistakes. Nemo was silent, not planning to make up nonsense. Although he knew that if he wanted to, he could take away all the information he wanted from this person within half a second—but no matter which method he used, that person’s brain would become a bloody mess afterwards.

He didn’t want to do that.

“Don’t worry about that. I’m in a hurry. Who summoned the Deadwood Jellyfish in Roadside Town?” Nemo clenched the black mist-entangled staff in his hand. His voice was a little dry. “Tell me everything you know.”

“Okay… Okay, dear sir.”

Nemo thought that things were going well. He only needed to go to the vicinity of Roadside Town to find enough evidence to confirm the safety of the town. Then he could tear open space, throw the prisoner directly at the door of the Insular Court, and take Oliver away in a dignified manner.

But he couldn’t feel at ease or even breathe a sigh of relief. In theory, everything was still under control, but there was a cold thorn in his heart.

Nemo adjusted his breathing rhythm for a while, raised his head again, and stared at the other’s mouth.

Hurry up. Faster. His intuition was screaming.

He must get Oliver back as soon as possible.

In the next second, a bright white light mercilessly split the peaceful night sky. Nemo turned abruptly and looked in its direction. No doubt, it was magic from the Laddism Church…

But the aura wasn’t anyone he knew.

---

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

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Chapter 126: The Land Where Hope Fades

Fortunately, this battle had a time limit.

After more than ten minutes of fighting, Oliver’s opponent finally gave up the fight due to efficiency considerations. He twisted his body halfway through attacking Oliver and neatly cut off the head of the death row prisoner next to him. The scattered death row prisoners seemed like crows who found carrion and quickly gathered from the strong smell of blood.

People fought in groups, like beasts biting each other. Blood gushed and limbs flew everywhere. Black and red flesh covered the ground that was continuously bombarded with magic arrays. It smelled so bad that it was impossible to tell what person or animal it once belonged to. Oliver suppressed the rolling of his stomach. His face became almost as pale as the skeleton helmet, but the hand holding the hilt of his sword didn’t  waver. He retreated and guarded, struggling to pull himself away from the fanatical vortex of death.

With Oliver’s occasional care, Randy’s defense was airtight. That heavy shield was like a moving fortress wall. Few people were willing to waste more than five minutes challenging it.

During the retreat, Oliver almost stepped on a mutilated body. The owner of the body was lying on his back, full of fear and unwillingness. His bloodshot eyes bulged, and masses of powdery blood foamed as he vaguely wailed.

“God, I won’t die,” the man shouted vaguely. “I won’t die in this hellhole…”

“Kill him, Ramon,” Randy said softly. “He doesn’t have much longer to live.”

Oliver shook his head gently, which made Randy sigh and stop speaking.

As if a lifetime had passed, the announcement of the end finally sounded. The death row prisoners put away their weapons and gathered in one place again. Almost all of them had sticky, dark blood and flesh on their faces, except for Oliver and Randy, who looked clean and out of place.

The number of people was nearly two-thirds lower than they were previously.

The man with a white cloth on his face didn’t say anything similar to “congratulations”. He seemed to be able to see through the white cloth. His face turned half a circle, as if he wanted to see the death row prisoners in front of him one by one. Perhaps it was under his own illusions, but Oliver held his breath. The man’s face seemed to stay in their direction for an exceptionally long time.

Then he lost consciousness.

Oliver’s last memory was of falling to the ground—not so much falling, but the earth slapped him on the side of his head. He focused too much on the masked man and was unprepared for the sudden pain and paralysis.

After he woke up, the first thing he noticed was the pain on the side of his face.

The Rest in Peace was tightly grasped by him, and under him were the familiar bumps and the hot, sour, and smelly air that lingered on the tip of his nose. Everything just now seemed like a nightmare. Unfortunately, the dirt that stuck to Oliver’s chin was mixed with flesh and blood, and the uncomfortable moist touch that bit into his skin reminded him of the true reality he was in.

He returned to the original carriage. The crowded people were gone, and there was only one companion left in the same carriage—rather two. Randy didn’t squeeze Oliver into a corner this time. The burly assassin sat upright in the other corner, holding his shield firmly in his hand.

Oliver straightened the skeleton helmet on his head. Thank God the restraint spell didn’t fail.

“You guys… Are you okay?” He tugged out a smile.

Randy’s eyes swept across his face quickly. His eyes were complex and didn’t answer his question.

“Where did the others go?” Oliver swallowed his saliva a little nervously as he added carefully.

“Mobile barracks,” Randy replied slowly. “…It seems you really don’t know anything.”

Oliver felt embarrassed. He laughed dryly, subconsciously trying to scratch his head, but only scratching the hard skeleton helmet.

“They train death row inmates there. When training is complete, they will be sent to the Death Row Legion and sold to various countries. I think you should have heard of them. They are all ‘finished products’, living weapons.” The assassin grinned mockingly. “While it’s in poor taste, it’s said that the evaluations from the various countries are quite good.”

It didn’t sound like a good place. Oliver nervously grabbed the edge of his cloak. His temples were still throbbing with pain, as if he had just woken up from a hangover. The collar on his neck began to suck his strength back again, making his muscles soft and weak. The originally light Rest in Peace in his hand seemed to weigh several times heavier, but by now he had begun to get used to the feeling of his stomach roiling with pain.

“What about us?” Oliver asked more tentatively.

“Withered Castle.” Randy looked at him for a while, with a faint trace of pity in his eyes—there was no mocking, but real pity. The gaze made Oliver’s hair stand up. “…I think we’re almost there.”

“Is there anything I need to pay attention to?” Oliver resisted his gaze and continued to ask. Randy, contrary to his previous norm, didn’t seem willing to talk to him. Oliver consciously didn’t do anything wrong, which meant it wasn’t a good sign.

“No,” Randy sighed. “Ramon, I know you are nervous… It’s useless.”

Oliver blinked, trying to pour polite curiosity into his eyes.

“I think my judgment of people is always accurate.” This time Randy didn’t respond to his gaze, but instead stared intently at a certain blood stain on his shield. “You’re not from ‘our side’. To be honest, I don’t want to have any more interactions with you. Otherwise, when you disappear completely, our mood will only become worse.”

“Disappear completely?” Oliver clenched the hilt of the sword. His back felt chills.

“Do you know when honest people suffer?” Randy pulled the shield, and the edge of the metal shield slashed across the floor of the carriage, making a shrill sound. “Your thoughts are really easy to guess. There are only a few. You have to know that the harder things are, the more thoroughly they break,” he muttered with a cold tone.

“I can probably guess what you’re thinking. You’re thinking that no matter where the Withered Castle is, you can always find one or two not-so-bad people to inquire about information and then work together. After all, you’re not bad. You’re sure you can find loopholes in this mess and get lucky and escape there.”

“You believe that no matter how bad people are, there will always be residual goodwill in their hearts. You believe that you can arouse their will and hope for life. You believe that kindness will always last longer than malice.”

Oliver opened his mouth and failed to make a sound. He could feel his heart sinking slightly—Randy’s tone was gradually becoming cold.

“You believe that good is rewarded with good and evil is rewarded with evil. All despair will eventually end, and there’s always a solution to everything.”

“This shithole will make you abandon these ideas. You will regret your decision today. In contrast, killing someone was really much easier.”

The carriage suddenly bumped violently, causing Oliver’s body to lean forward from the momentum. It seemed like the carriage had stopped.

“We had a great time working together, Ramon.” Randy finally raised his head and looked into his eyes again, this time with no emotion on his rigid face. “Goodbye.”

Almost in the same second. The door of the carriage was opened heavily, and a strong light pierced into the dark carriage.

Oliver was the first to get out of the carriage. He held back the softness in his legs and forced himself to look up at the building in front of him.

It was difficult to say whether it was a mountain or a castle. The castle in front of him seemed to be carved out of an entire mountain. The unexpected atmosphere of the architectural style didn’t match the somewhat slender name “Withered Castle”. Countless man-made buildings surround this weird mountain-shaped castle. Oliver didn’t see the boundary at first glance. If the surrounding small stone fort was also counted, its size was even close to a medium-sized city. A dark and cold mountain city.

The masked man didn’t leave him much time to observe the terrain.

That person wasn’t the same as Oliver’s memory. He was a lot thinner and his clothes that were originally the right size were now one size larger, making the man covered in white cloth look a little skinny.

Oliver immediately knew the reason.

The man trembled strangely a few times, and then split. It seemed that the body was made of colored mud. What made him uncomfortable was that the part that was missing due to the split didn’t grow back but remained missing. Not only did he look horribly thin now, but he also didn’t even have a decent human form anywhere.

The “person” who split out was also masked with a white cloth. He led Randy in the other direction. Oliver turned his head desperately to look, but Randy didn’t seem to respond to him in the slightest.

Oliver rubbed the live collar that was slowly squirming around his neck, sighed, and finally retracted his gaze.

Instead of leading him towards the entrance, the strange, masked man headed straight for a wall. Oliver tried to distance himself, but the impersonal thing seemed to have an invisible leash tied to his hand. Once he was too far away, the sudden pain would make him kneel. Originally, his physical strength was exhausted by the suction of the collar, so Oliver decided to suspend his resistance first. He had to look for the right opportunity…

Just like Randy said.

No, no. Oliver shook his head violently, trying to throw the cold words out of his ears. He would succeed. Nemo was still waiting for him. They had just met not long ago—Nemo was probably going crazy at this moment.

Yes, his lover was waiting for him, and he must be looking for him with his companions. Their journey hadn’t been smooth sailing, nor had they ever seen cruelty before. Oliver desperately tried to lift his spirits. This was just another difficult problem, and the answer must be hidden somewhere.

However, when he stepped into the Withered Castle, he suddenly understood what Randy meant.

Passing through the fantasy-like walls and across the cold and dry corridors, the first thing they passed was a huge square iron cage. The cage was densely packed with people. Men and women next to each other, motionless, with only the faint rising of their chests. They were wearing thin cloth robes of the same style that had been stained with so much dirt that he couldn’t tell what the original color was. The space only allowed them to stand, and they couldn’t do anything other than breathe.

Their collarbones were nailed with uniform metal rings, and the cold metal pierced their flesh. Half a palm-sized metal tag hung at the end. No one spoke, except for the occasional groan. All that was left was muddy and suppressed breathing. The cage was higher than the ground, with a complete set of purification arrays engraved below, equipped with a drainage system. Even so, the faint smell continued to drift everywhere.

It was like captive livestock.

Hearing voices, the crowd in the cage swept their eyes over. There was no emotion in them. They were blank and numb, like the eyes of a dead animal about to be deflated. There was no thought, no pain, not even despair. Oliver couldn’t think of any other words to describe their state besides the word “alive”.

They stared at him with empty eyes, without expectations or pleading, more like a subconscious reaction to a moving object. This was the first time Oliver saw such a gaze on a human.

For the first time in his life, it made him truly scared.

Oliver bit the corner of his mouth fiercely, and after a numbing pain, the smell of blood kept him sober. His throat was so dry that he didn’t even have saliva to swallow. The remaining strength left by the collar was only enough for him to stand firm and move forward. Exhaustion had completely emptied his spirit and his stomach, which had not received food for a long time, began to twitch. He wanted to force himself to continue thinking, but his thinking was like a rusty gear, which could only produce meaningless sounds.

He had never felt so helpless since the night he killed his father with his own hands.

And this time, he didn’t have that warm support by his side.

Unable to despair, Oliver yelled severely at himself in his heart. There was nothing at all.

---

Kinky Thoughts:

These chapters are killing me. How long are they going to be separated?!

---

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

---

Chapter 125: Stars in the Dark

It was finally getting dark. The gatekeeper, Jonah, adjusted the anti-magic device, putting all the indicators to the highest, and then yawned. For some reason, the number of people visiting Kenyatta in recent days had suddenly increased several-folds, and his workload had doubled several times. Jonah’s throat was burning with pain. His neck was stiff, and his legs were numb. As a bachelor, the iced wine in the tavern after his shift was his only support right now.

He would be liberated after sunset. Jonah coughed a few times and cleared his throat, trying to alleviate the swelling and pain that was like sand rubbing against his throat. Only two more. No, no, one was over. Then he would definitely go to the tavern for a good drink. Maybe tonight he could be extravagant and order two more side dishes and treat himself, since he was too tired to stand right now.

Hell, he looked at people’s faces all day. Even if he closed his eyes, human facial features floated everywhere in the dark. In his eyes, men, women, and children gradually became the same. His life was about to be polluted by this damn job. Jonah roared angrily in his heart, trying to recall the beautiful waitress in the tavern for a few seconds, but found that her appearance that seemed to be engraved in his heart in the past had now become a blur.

He raised his eyes in frustration and looked at the gradually darkening sky.

The last person he had to deal with finally appeared in the thick of the night. The man had on a tan hood. He looked about 6.2 feet, and with the cheap hood on, Jonah thought he was most likely one of those vulgar men. Jonah couldn’t help but groan to himself about how short he was compared to him.

The mood of the gatekeeper became worse.

He heard the unique bell of a corpse carriage. The corpse carrier couldn’t even afford a horse and instead had to use a fuller goat to pull the cart. There were about three to four corpses lying on the simple wooden car, and the materials weren’t high-end. A strong rancid smell rushed straight into his nostrils and went straight to his brain.

Jonah almost cursed out in despair. The smell of corpses was not easy to dissipate, and when he entered the tavern later, he would have to deal with the roaring of the owner. He resolved to give this plague god some trouble, as this guy had ruined most of his last hope for the day.

“Face, identity, purpose,” the hapless gatekeeper roared with a hoarse voice.

The man obediently took off his hood.

As soon as Jonah’s next taunt was about to jump out of his throat, he swallowed it back and almost choked himself. What good luck! Absolute good luck. The guard’s vague thoughts of the iced wine and the waitress’ yellow skirt disappeared from his mind. The annoying hallucinations that plagued him were gone in an instant, and he couldn’t remember any of the previous faces, let alone their fragmentary facial features.

‘God, he’s so beautiful,’ the gatekeeper thought. Jonah was positive that he liked women with soft bodies, but he was still involuntarily attracted to this abnormal beauty. For the first time, he felt what “stunning” truly meant. He carefully picked up the adjective from the column of “exaggeration” in his mind and put it into the category of “reality”…

It was a young man, with long blond hair hanging from his rough hood that glowed softly in the dark night. He smiled at the gatekeeper which made his ice lake-like blue eyes slightly bend, as beautiful as an illusion.

Jonah instantly blushed due to the smile that dazzled him for a few seconds. After the short shock, he immediately remembered his duty. “Proof of identity… Uh, your proof of identity and the purpose of entering the city, sir.”

This time his tone had eased a lot as he uneasily stared at the blond young man’s face repeatedly.

“I’m so sorry… I lost my identification documents, dear sir,” the blond young man whispered in a pleasant tone. His voice was low and soft, with a gentle Garland accent. “You see, our business tends to get messy—I just want to make some coins by sending these poor people back to their hometown.”

“Oh, oh.” Jonah glanced at the anti-magic device next to him faintly. Is this face truly not an illusion? Why isn’t it responding? “Then I’m afraid you have to show your certificate of employment, sir. We have to register you.”

The young man smiled at him again and took out a large piece of parchment paper from a thin copper tube and handed it to him with both hands.

“Well,” Jonah said as he unrolled the parchment and looked at it. The seal didn’t seem to be forged. “One final step. I have to ask, so please understand… Have you ever registered for entry before?”

“Unfortunately, no.” The young man shook his head.

The other party didn’t have any recognizable proof of identification, so according to the rules, he couldn’t allow this person to enter. But outside of the city, everything was barren and there were even a few wolf howls that sounded not far away—it was at least three hours away from the nearest transfer station and right now it was completely dark.

“I understand your difficulties, Mr. Guard,” the blond young man said pitifully, tucking a strand of blond hair behind his ear. “Sorry, I haven’t run a multinational business before, so I’m not familiar with these procedures. What should I do next?”

“You have to go back to the country where you registered last time from the transfer station and get the certificate there. Then you can enter the city and go through the entry formalities…” Jonah’s voice became quieter under the gaze of the other party.

Just then a wolf howled in the distance.

“Can you be accommodating?” The blond young man grabbed the guard’s hand, and his voice sounded more distressed. “These things smell very strong. They will attract wild animals! It’s not easy to make a living. I’m really not a dangerous person. Please.”

The guard thought to himself, ‘He indeed didn’t seem like it.’ Such a person wouldn’t grow up into a wanted man. Jonah looked at the hand that held his left hand tightly—it was beautiful. He sighed again in his heart. He could even hear the sound of blood rushing to his eardrum.

“Oh, then you have to hurry up and get the procedures done,” he muttered as he blushed to the roots of his ear, completely forgetting the strong smell of corpses in the air.

“Thank you very much! By the way, sir, do you want to look at these coffins? I’ll open the lid for you—” The blond young man took out a crowbar from the back of the fuller goat and directly pried up the lid of the coffin.

It caused the smell of decay to rise into the sky.

“No need, close it quickly.” Jonah had completely forgotten about this. He was almost choked into tears. “You can go into the city.”

There were few pedestrians in Kenyatta at night. The sparse few didn’t seem bothered by the smell. After the corpse carriage entered the city, the smell of corpses suddenly disappeared.

The dark bone ball on the staff stopped rotating, and the rotting spell that was drawn from the dead ground stopped. Nemo immediately pushed away the thin coffin board in front of him and jumped off the corpse carriage.

“Good job,” Ann whistled. “You’re still a bit useful, Dylan.”

“I was the main contributor to the purchase of this corpse carriage,” Jesse said discontentedly. The harmless aura on his face instantly disappeared. “Don’t you have anything to say? Clearly, a charm spell could be done—”

“You’re amazing,” Nemo said bluntly and gave a very reluctant clap.

Jesse huffed for a while and glanced at the knight commander.

“You worked hard,” Adrian said quietly. “There’s no other option. Garland must be looking for the three of us, and the anti-magic device is very sensitive to the charm spell. It’s not a bad thing to be cautious.”

“Will it cause trouble for the guard just now?” Nemo was silent for a while before he asked carefully.

“No.” Jesse smacked his lips. “We won’t stay here for long, or do you really want to slaughter a city today?”

Nemo unceremoniously flung his staff and hit Jesse on the head. He didn’t use much force, but it was definitely not a weak attack—the clanging sound was crystal clear.

Jesse screamed as he covered his head with both hands, “You attacked an innocent teammate!”

Nemo was stunned, as if he couldn’t believe the speed of his hand. “I thought you could avoid… I’m sorry, Dylan.”

“I forgive you.” The blond young man glanced at Nemo angrily, then grabbed Adrian. “Love, let’s go for a drink.”

Adrian didn’t resist.

“Nemo and I will find a suitable place to rest and communicate with you using the communication crystal.” Ann raised an eyebrow at the former knight commander and pushed the old wooden cart to the corner of the city wall.

“I… I have a personal matter, Ann.” Nemo poked his staff at the wooden cart at random. The wood that came into contact with the bone ball began to rot rapidly, and the rot quickly spread, causing the wooden cart and coffin to turn into an inconspicuous black debris within a few seconds. “I’ll see you in the early hours of the morning. How about two in the morning?”

“The two of us may not come back at night.” The blond young man’s tone was casual and ambiguous. “If we don’t come back on time—”

“See you at two at the latest,” Adrian interrupted Jesse coldly.

“Okay.” Ann didn’t ask much. “I’m going to find a place to stay overnight that doesn’t require identity registration, and I’ll also replenish our supplies. Although the security here isn’t too strong, you should be careful.”

When she said this, she stared at Nemo worriedly. “I don’t want to lose another companion.”

“I will be careful. Thank you.” Nemo could sense Ann’s guilt, but his words were useless. He could only try his best to remain calm so that she wouldn’t blame herself too much. “You have to be careful too.”

He nodded at her and walked around the corner of the city wall.

The gray parrot stood on his shoulder. Nemo felt empty again, but the strange thing was that this time he no longer felt anxious or panicked. Oliver wasn’t here. His fragility seemed to have disappeared, leaving behind only a hard and dull shell.

This hard shell made it difficult for him to breathe.

The black shadow climbed up from his bare feet and condensed into a broad black robe. A broad hood covered most of his face, and the rest of his skin was covered by a fog-like shadow. The black-haired young man quietly melted into the night. The gray parrot flew up from his shoulder, hesitated for a few seconds, and finally opened its mouth.

“You… You… Damn it, what are you planning?” It cried while cranking its neck.

“Finding the people from the Abyssal Church,” Nemo replied softly, leaping lightly onto the roof of the nearest building. “They certainly won’t ignore this change. I think there are many people who plan to get through here.”

“Do you know how many people are in this city?” The gray parrot muttered. “You don’t really want to slaughter the entire city, do you?”

Nemo raised his staff threateningly, and Bagelmaurus shrank into a ball like a quail, tossing out all its demeanor of a superior demon.

“I really don’t like this joke,” Nemo sighed and slowly closed his eyes.

He could see the stars after closing his eyes.

He could feel countless pale spots of light flickering, with different strengths and weaknesses, of different sizes, but on the whole it was dim. Although Nemo didn’t know the reason, he believed he knew what they were…

Subordinate demons running around, sneaky intermediate demons, demon worshipers wandering in the shadows. There were no superior demons or demon warlocks here, so he could visit the relatively strongest among them.

In a relatively densely populated city, he didn’t dare split space casually, in case he happened to hurt some unlucky fellow. Nemo pedaled hard on the roof and moved as fast as a bird as he rushed towards a building in Kenyatta in the night.

Under the same dark sky.

Oliver didn’t use magic. He directly used the force from his sword to resist the violent magic attacks on the opposite side. The boots on his two feet were stuck in the ground, but he was still forced to retreat several steps abruptly.

The gaze cast by the opposite side didn’t seem to be looking at people, but more like someone looking at an inevitable prey. However, Oliver’s chilling attire worked. The bloodstained man circled around him like a beast but didn’t approach rashly.

Oliver stretched every string tightly, subconsciously protecting the assassin behind him. He looked intently at the enemy who attacked again. The bone sword split the air, as light as a feather in the wind, cleverly teasing the other party. The disparity in strength made the battle felt more like a one-way manipulation. After the fight, the enemy was farther away than when they first started.

From this angle, Oliver couldn’t see Randy’s complex eyes behind him.

“He’s not suitable,” Randy whispered. “He’s definitely not suitable there.”

“You’re right.” Mora’s voice passed through his bones and into his brain. “So he’s destined to go to the Withered Castle. I can’t even watch anymore.”

The female killer let out a slight sigh, sounding sullen. “An upright person… I really don’t want to see him destroyed.”

“No.” Randy sighed as he absentmindedly threw out the heavy shield. “What was the saying, ‘There are only two kinds of people who can leave the Withered Castle—the dead and the murderous.’”

“Forget the dead, we’re already murderers, but he’s not.”

“…He’s not ‘yet’.”

---

The author has something to say:

Jesse made a great contribution and got lots of face. Are you happy, Jesse?

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

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Chapter 124: Out of Reach

Oliver finally managed to control his chin so that he wouldn’t gape his mouth open stupidly. The girl who claimed to be Mora nodded generously to him and made a casual greeting gesture. The blade on her fingertips gleamed.

“Oliver Ramon,” he coughed. “Black Chapter.”

“Actually, I heard you just now, but I like polite people.” The girl nodded with satisfaction, and her tone sounded pleasant. “Normally we would kill you now. Unfortunately, we can’t kill people at this moment.”

Oliver was a little uncertain about whether to clench the hilt of his sword and make a preliminary defense.

“Stop it, Mora.” Randy moved his neck, and the joints made a muffled sound. “He has no malice. At least not now.”

“Of course I know. I’m just teasing!” The young girl curled her lips in dissatisfaction. “Did I scare him? Are you jealous? ……You have to admit, Randy, he’s much more handsome than you.”

“…” the tall male assassin turned his head.

“Do you think I didn’t know?” Mora said quietly. “There was a lady with big breasts in the carriage just now. You turned your head and glanced at her several times, and your heart was beating faster for a few seconds. A few seconds!”

“I……”

“Of course, I can understand,” Mora pretended to wipe away tears that didn’t exist and twitched her nose, “so I decided to talk to this handsome young man more. You have no say in this.”

“…” Seeing the petite female assassin approach him, Oliver quickly took a few steps back and decided to remove himself from the flirting between the two people in front of him. “I have a boyfriend.” His tone was extremely firm.

The two assassins looked at him at the same time, one with grief in her eyes and the other with faint joy in his.

“What a shame!” Mora looked aggrieved. “I was hoping to I’ll fall in love with you and break up with this stupid stake—”

Randy still had a serious expression of displeasure. At that moment, he was looking up at the sky, pretending not to hear anything. Suddenly, he took a breath, and when he spoke again, his tone was no longer as relaxed as before.

“Mora,” he only spoke her name.

The short girl and Randy quickly exchanged glances before they went straight back into each other’s bodies. Their flesh crisscrossed without any obstacles, not blending. It was like Mora was walking into an opaque phantom. Just as her figure disappeared, a surveillance bug staggered over.

‘This makes sense,’ Oliver thought quickly.

Why Randy claimed he couldn’t fight high-intensity and long-term battles, why he was an assassin, why he was only equipped with a heavy and strong metal shield, and why his body move less when attacking. If the girl hidden inside his body needed to move with him, this would explain everything.

But if they wanted to ensure that they wouldn’t reveal it, they must act in exactly the same way. The synchronization rate of the movements of the two and the degree of communication between their minds were absolutely terrifying. He couldn’t even believe it was true.

“Are you…?” he asked Randy implicitly. “Is it a spell?”

“It’s a curse.” Randy carried the shield carelessly and glanced at the surveillance bug with the corner of his eyes. “It’s been many years. I don’t care… Shhh.”

Randy jumped into the bushes, and Oliver hid almost at the same time as him. Heavy and messy footsteps mixed with heavy breathing hovered around them. The thick smell of blood passed through the trees and into their noses. Those wandering outside resembled more stunned beasts than humans.

“You asked me to cooperate… In hopes that I would contain the enemy and minimize the range of our movements,” Oliver whispered when the enemy went away. “Miss Mora has to move with you, right? What’s this kind of synchronization…”

“Fourteen years of practice.” Randy didn’t look at Oliver. He pulled aside a little bush and peeped out. “Now you should worry about yourself, Mr. Ramon.”

He glanced at Oliver with almost no emotion in his eyes. “I suggest you kill the guy just now. He was injured. It shouldn’t be difficult for you.”

“Why?” Oliver raised his eyebrows.

“We have our purpose, but you’d better not be soft-hearted.” The tall man’s face was calm. “Even if you kill one, you can enter the mobile barracks and stay away from this hellhole. I only need a temporary collaborator who won’t stab me in the back, but I don’t need a good person.”

“Although we have faced endless war, the chance of escape is much higher than being trapped in the Withered Castle. To be honest, you may end up worse than those consumables without any combat power.”

Oliver shook his head gently.

“…Aren’t you a Black Chapter? Why are you so reluctant to kill someone?”

“I’ve killed a person before.” Oliver lowered his gaze. “It feels terrible.”

“These are not civilians. They were originally death row prisoners.”

“In theory, we’re also death row prisoners,” he said weakly, curling the corners of his mouth, “but I don’t think I deserve to die.”

Randy turned his face and raised his eyebrows high.

“If I find myself a ‘last resort’ excuse now,” Oliver took a deep breath, “then there will definitely be a second time, then a third—after all, there will never be a shortage of excuses.”

“Interesting. I’m starting to wonder what you did.” Randy muttered in a low voice.

A pillar of fire hit the shrub where the two were hiding. Oliver quickly retreated. He gradually mastered the rhythm of peaceful coexistence with the collar. He cleverly erected ice spikes, forming a fence of ice that gave the two plenty of time to escape.

They had to hold on for three hours. How long has it been now?

Oliver quickly pedaled on the ground and rushed to the relatively dense area of trees, silently estimating the time.

“Although I don’t mind helping you casually,” Randy said as he ran, “strictly speaking, although Mora hasn’t been caught, she can’t get this kind of collar off.”

Oliver used his sword aura to cut down a few trees, then carefully concealed his breathing and hid himself in a pile of branches and leaves. The force of his sword moved forward, straight into the distance, creating a ton of momentum.

“Thank you for your kindness.” Oliver didn’t even dare to move his lips. He spoke using purely the air of his voice. “I will find a way by myself… In fact, I don’t know my specific crime. Those people insisted that I’m a Knight of Silence, but I swear I’m not.”

“…If the Knights of Silence are like you, the reputation of the Abyssal Church wouldn’t be so shit,” Randy snorted and smiled as he hid in the bushes. “To be fair—you do seem concerned about our curse.”

The assassin put his back into the leaves and changed to a more natural sitting posture, trying to seize his idle time to regain his strength. Oliver moved out to make room for Randy.

Before he moved a few steps, he pressed something hard on his hand and was almost pierced. Oliver subconsciously glanced into the shadows. The skull of a reptile was lying quietly there with its eye sockets and the huge temporal foramen next to each other. The lower jaw of the skull had long disappeared, and there were two canine teeth that were still intact.

“In general, we can’t touch each other,” Randy said indifferently. “It’s not good to touch things indirectly, just like this.”

“But I can touch you,” Oliver picked up the small skull, compared its size, and began to try to remove the dirt stains with magic.

“Yes, because it’s just a curse for the two of us.”

“…Is there a solution?” Oliver asked immediately after putting a few restraints on the skull.

“The easiest thing is to break up, but it hasn’t been successful.” Randy’s face still looked foul, but his eyes became much softer. “It’s not possible. I like her the most, and she didn’t find anyone she likes better, so we can only make do with this difficult path.”

Oliver felt a little sad. He probably knew what it was like to be unable to touch a loved one. It was only a day since he was separated from Nemo, and his mood had already begun to go downhill. What would it be like if it was fourteen years?

However, Randy looked calm, as if he was telling the story of some other person.

“There’s still half an hour,” a voice that was amplified by magic fell from the sky. “Please hurry up.”

As soon as the voice fell, a storm rolled their way causing broken trees to pile together. The survivors’ goals were getting more limited, and their attacks became crazier. Finally, someone broke out recklessly, as if what was waiting for him wasn’t the Death Row Legion, but a throne made of gold.

The two people who had been feeling cautious couldn’t avoid it any longer.

“Let me see how long your ‘kindness’ can last,” Randy snorted, and stood up. “Now you have to get serious, Ramon.”

Facing the surging killing intent of the huge waves, Oliver buttoned the skull on his head. It was just the right size under the processing of magic. It should be the skull of a small earth dragon. The sharp teeth on the edge of the upper jaw were uneven, but the canine teeth were still sharp. The nostril, eyes, and temporal foramen were mixed together, causing the porous, special-shaped skull to exude a smell of death that could send chills down people’s backs.

The restraint technique took effect. The skull covered the upper half of his face and successfully turned into a cold and strange helmet. Although most of his face could be seen through the hollows of the eye sockets and the temporal foramen, against the background of the gloomy bones, no one would associate this face with the sun-scorching leader of Horizon.

“This is not ‘kindness’,” After successfully hiding his face, Oliver sighed and clenched the equally pale Rest in Peace. “It’s just…”

He couldn’t find the right world.

Even if he really did kill, perhaps most people could understand his helplessness, but along the way, he had seen many people who still adhered to their principles despite their desperate situation. If he crossed his bottom line here, he didn’t think he could face those “ordinary” people in a dignified manner.

If he was weaker, maybe he really had no choice, but this wasn’t the case. He was strong enough, much stronger than his opponents, and Oliver knew this well.

…Then, even if it was stupid, inflexible, and pointless perseverance…

Compared to the countless self-questioning that were destined to be fruitless and would bring insomnia in the middle of the night after abandoning one’s principles, he chose to bear the price of this persistence and chose to sleep peacefully with a clear conscience.

Nemo, on the other hand, was staring at the flashing bulletin board, only to feel that there was an extra piece of ice in his stomach.

“The cocoon of a superior demon?” Nemo’s voice was dry, and he didn’t even bother to hide it.

“Something that has only appeared in recent days.” Adrian Cross retracted his gaze. “It stands to reason that it can’t hatch as it’ll be bound by the law. Roadside Town will be fine for the time being.”

“Don’t be so sure. We do have a complete… Ahem.” Ann stopped talking in time.

“…I have reservations on this point.” The knight commander glanced at Nemo. “If things get to that point, the guild should send mercenaries from the first echelon. But you see—” The slender finger pointed to the lower part of the light screen. “At present, all medium-sized mercenary groups are exploring. I guess people from all religions are also on the way.”

“Isn’t that great?” Jesse clapped his hands. “There must be a lot of people going to Roadside Town now. The garrison over there must be going crazy. We can get in. Are you okay, Mr. Light?”

Nemo didn’t answer, he slowly raised his right hand, and then slowly grabbed his left arm.

[About this, I have some theories… As long as I feel ‘voluntary abandonment’…”]

He only mentioned this to the gray parrot not long ago. On that dark night when his left arm was bitten off by the Ratliff Wolfhound, how was he feeling?

At that time, he failed to notice the loss of his left arm, but now Nemo could clearly recall the unnatural emptiness of his left shoulder. The surrounding air became colder as a result. At that time, he was indeed willing to give up his left arm, gain physical freedom, and do everything in his power to survive.

“We need to move quickly,” his tone was determined, with a level of authority that he couldn’t perceive.

“…That thing is dangerous. It may be more dangerous than we think.”

---

The author has something to say:

That skull is based on the skull of a carnivorous dinosaur. The skulls of reptiles do have a temporal foreman, which gives off a dangerous and charming feeling?!?

————————

Nemo: Can’t there be good things recently? Can’t there be good things!

Oliver: (Slowly spit out the dog food he just ate) Wow, everyone is miserable. It’s really bitter.

Ann: I lost the leader of the team. Wuwuwu, I can’t look directly at Nemo… I lost the leader of the team—

Adrian: How will various religions react to the events of the Abyssal Church? I’m a little worried… And what the hell is Jesse?

☆·*·:*·*☆Today is a good day☆·*·:·*·☆

Jesse: I’m going on a date with Adri, yay!!!

Gray Parrot: I have regained my strength, yay!!!

…The two lowest-status people are very happy; The world is really unfair√

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

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Chapter 123: The Third Person

Bagelmaurus felt dizzy. Until the other members of Tumbleweed walked out of the building, it still hadn’t recovered. To be honest, when the word “Demon King” first came out of Light’s mouth, it wanted to deny and ridicule him as before.

But Light didn’t look like he was joking.

Then the tip of its tongue touched the drop of blood, and the gray parrot finally realized that the terrible guess in its heart had come true.

It may be because of the difference in quantity that the degree of stimulation was far from the original, but the feeling was so close that it made it feel creeped out. It was indeed the devastating power unique to the Demon King’s flesh. It was so violent that it seemed to overwhelm everything. With just less than a single drop of blood, the power of its own flesh instantly returned to its peak, even stronger than the fresh flesh of its original body.

Bagelmaurus was confident. Even if the parrot’s body limited a considerable part of its power, now its strength was just as strong as an average superior demon on the surface.

Regaining strength was always a good thing.

It should have felt desperate, and the fear engraved in its instinct was frozen in place. Unfortunately, its fear and despair seemed to have risen above its head, and now there was only a wonderful sense of relief and disbelief…

The gray parrot squatted contentedly on Nemo’s shoulder, pecking his ears from time to time. The fear that ran deep into its bones was hard to overcome, but it was starting to get used to it. The pleasure brought by “bullying the Demon King” was brand new. Every time, it would bring a strange sense of excitement, like walking on the edge of death.

It was definitely the pride of all the Corewen Flat Snakes in the Abyss. Bagelmaurus puffed up its chest.

Ann’s expression, who had just walked out the door, became a little more vivid. She was looking in confusion at the gray parrot that seemed to be injected with chicken blood*.

*Depending on context, it could be being crazy or obsessed with something/an idol, or in this context means becoming very excited and energetic. The term comes from chicken-blood therapy back in the 1960’s when doctors would take rooster blood and inject it into patients, believing it made them highly aggressive and strong.

“Leave it alone.” Nemo poked the beak of the bird gnawing on his ears. “How’s the situation on your side?”

“Oliver should still be in the Insular Court,” Ann sighed softly, “but the information isn’t reliable. I have arranged for someone to watch the prison in the capital of Alban.”

“Thank you,” Nemo murmured. He didn’t feel at ease, and the bad premonition gave him chills on the back of his neck. “Shall we go to Kenyatta now?”

“That’s right. Kenyatta isn’t peaceful right now, so it’s better to sneak in.” The female warrior scratched her short hair. “But Nemo, that incident happened a while ago, right? Although it’s indeed necessary to check the location of where it happened… Do you really don’t want to post a task to find witnesses?”

“No need,” Nemo’s tone was firm. “I have my ways.”

“Well, since… Dylan, what are you doing?” Originally, Ann’s tone was deliberately softened, but the second half of her sentence instantly returned to its hard stance.

“Very interesting information.” Jesse hooked his fingers at the two of them. “Leave that goat alone. You won’t lose it in just this short of time. Come and have a look.”

Nemo put the leash around Bagelmaurus’ neck, then put the gray parrot on the stone sculpture at the entrance of the guild hall. He scowled at Jesse, firmly believing that there was no news that could actually shock him. “…Sorry, I’m not in the mood to watch the excitement right now.”

“Oh, I understand, but there has been a change in the border forest near Roadside Town—” Jesse rubbed his lower lip with a smile. “I think you will be interested.”

In an unknown wilderness in the distance, pieces of black smoke had begun to emerge from the woodlands. Sparks ignited by magic arrays withered the grass, and the center of the battlefield was covered with fire.

Oliver finally put down his bone sword. The burly man in front of him claimed to be an assassin, but he didn’t seem hostile or malicious.

“Oliver Ramon.” Oliver stretched out his hand and shook the other party’s. He then stood up neatly and took out a small broken branch stuck in the gap of his armor. “Have you met Lopez?”

“Once,” Randy said in a muffled voice. “Horizon has stuffed tons of dangerous people on this island, so they won’t like this face.” His tone became serious. “…But I remember he has no relatives.”

His words didn’t affect his movements. Randy stood behind the giant metal shield. The thick shield was pushed slightly back, plowing up a row of soil as the impact of spells and metal explosions could be heard on the other side.

“…This face is purely coincidence.” Oliver grimaced. “Is that why you blocked me in the carriage just now?”

Randy shrugged.

Oliver returned a slightly grateful smile to the other party. He stretched out his hand and tried to set up a defensive spell, but the moment he started to guide magic, the severe pain in his neck struck again. Oliver gritted his teeth and maintained his standing position.

“Don’t use defensive spells. Only physical defense is allowed here.” Randy frowned at him. “You…”

Before he could finish speaking, Oliver moved. He slashed the Rest in Peace horizontally forward, and a huge icicle grew from the sword. Although it wasn’t as strong as his ice shield, it could be regarded as a temporary separation between them and the radiated chaos.

“Why are you looking for me to cooperate?” After all this, Oliver couldn’t help but kneel down on one knee to resist the pain that was piercing his temples.

“You look the most suitable,” Randy said. “I’m not good at long-term high-intensity combat, and I need a reliable collaborator for the time being. You also seem to know nothing about the current situation.”

Oliver instantly forgot all the discomfort. His gaze swept from Randy’s face to his strong muscles, then moved back to Randy’s face again. The one in front of him looked like the extreme endurance type—one who could fight ten people. He magnanimously expressed his doubts with his eyes.

The serious-looking assassin ignored his questioning eyes. He stretched out his arm and held Oliver firmly. “How much do you know about the current situation, Mr. Ramon?”

“Nothing at all.” Oliver patted his arm and took a step back. “Thanks, I can still stand by myself.”

“Your team recruited Adrian Cross. At the time, I thought it was a desperate madman who was careless.” Randy shook his head. “But your blankness just now doesn’t seem to be pretending. Do you really know nothing?”

“Yes.” It wasn’t something to be proud of admitting, but he truly didn’t have a clue. Oliver pressed his temples hard and laboriously squeezed the words out of his throat. “If you want, feel free to object… I have three questions.”

“Ask.” Randy put up his shield and the ice spikes around them began to collapse unnaturally.

“First, why do you want to fight? Second, why can’t defensive spells be used.” Oliver raised his feet and set up a defensive posture. “Third… Why are they laughing?”

About five prisoners rushed towards the two of them with a slightly crazed smile on their faces. One of their arms suddenly turned into dark purple smoke and rushed straight at Oliver. Oliver took a step back quickly and moved his hand to cast a purification array.

The smoke suddenly dissipated in the white light and the man let out a shrill scream, “It’s a bastard who’s been taught by the Laddism Church!”

This scream attracted the attention of many people. Oliver breathed out heavily. He could feel the hostility gathering in his body suddenly becoming heavier.

“I can answer the first two questions.” Randy swung his shield. The edge of the shield directly hit someone in the abdomen, flinging him away. “Because this is the elimination test for the Death Row Legion. They only need sharp knives and have no use for defensive capabilities. The more people killed, the better the initial treatment.”

“So the reason why they are laughing—” Oliver jumped decisively, stepping on the edge of Randy’s shield with one foot and jumping high. When he fell again, it was accompanied by the sound of his sword mixed with ice ballast.

The enemy in front of him froze back a dozen steps.

“—is because of this?” Oliver fell back on Randy and finished the second half of his sentence in a low voice. Since the Death Row Legion pursued combat power, he didn’t want to expose all his strength early.

“You can say that.” Randy knocked his shield hard onto the ground, causing it to rumble. The enemy, who was just about to surround him, staggered back onto the ground. “You don’t need to accept the death penalty. You can live comfortably, and you can kill legally—as long as you can survive the battlefield.”

“You’re an assassin.” Oliver swung his sword casually, causing the annoying vines in front of him to break in response. “Why don’t you want to kill right now?”

“This is my…” Randy frowned. He was just about to answer, but he suddenly stopped.

Countless shadow vines that looked withered stretched out from his shadow, entangling him in place. A thin figure emerged from the shadows, walked around Randy, and was about to stab the assassin’s heart mercilessly with a sharp knife in his hand. Oliver drew his sword almost in the next second, but it was too late…

Randy did only one thing.

He pulled out a wide and ragged black cloak from behind him, and the flying black cloth covered the figure firmly. His actions didn’t decay. Just like a magician on stage, his magic was powerful but had a strong murderous aura.

When he loosened the cloak again, the cloak was already drenched with blood that didn’t belong to the assassin.

The sneak attacker staggered back a few steps, looking at him in disbelief. It was like he had slammed into a board full of nails. He had a large number of wounds covering his body, but they weren’t fatal—but if left alone, he would most likely die of blood loss in a short time. The thin man cursed and quickly slipped away.

Oliver put down his sword and looked at Randy in shock. The assassin’s clothes looked ordinary. The thin fabric on his chest was bulged by muscles, and it didn’t look like there were any sharp weapons or objects hidden on him.

On the other hand, the newly appointed leader of Tumbleweed wasn’t arrogant, but he was also considerably confident in his own strength. He admitted that he wouldn’t make a mistake—in that moment, a very short moment, there was no doubt that there were two people inside the assassin Randy. He wasn’t speaking this metaphorically, as there actually were two real-life people.

A touch of snow-white slipped through the gap in the cloak, and a line of sight swept across his face.

Oliver was positive he wasn’t hallucinating.

What’s going on?

If he hadn’t felt the existence of a “third person”, Oliver could have ignored Randy’s technique. After all, everyone had a few tricks up their sleeves, and he wasn’t familiar with Randy. However, it was a person, a living person, who could appear and disappear in an instant.

Oliver swallowed. He checked carefully, and the aura on Randy’s body returned to the previous situation. Since he was imprisoned, his reality had become as absurd as a dream. He finally thought that the current situation was going on the right track…

“Let’s go.” The tall and burly assassin said in a deep voice, as if what he had just done was a routine attack.

Oliver didn’t move. He frowned and began to think about the most polite way to ask. Randy had helped him out a lot, but it was also true that his condition was weird. If possible, Oliver didn’t want to offend the other party because of his little suspicion.

But before he could think of a suitable expression, the answer came out by itself.

A few cold rays of light flashed, and a fat surveillance bug fell to the ground and was swallowed directly.

“It doesn’t matter, Randy. He found me,” a voice said.

The voice was crisp and pleasant. It sounded like a young woman. Suddenly, a girl appeared in front of Oliver. Her hair was as short as Randy’s but was brilliantly golden. Her eyes were big, and the corners were slightly raised with a natural smile. Her figure was slender and strong, but she was a bit short. She didn’t even look as tall as five and a quarter feet. He didn’t know if it was to make up for her lack of height, but the petite girl wore strange shoes with exaggeratedly high metal heels, which looked like she was wearing stilts at a glance.

She walked out of Randy’s body, literally. It was like that big young man was just a phantom, a cloud of colored smoke and dust.

“Mora.” Randy wiped his face vigorously. “This is too dangerous.”

“He found me anyway. Isn’t that right, dear sir?” the young girl made an exaggerated grimace and pointed her slender finger at herself. “Mora, assassin, and the girlfriend of this stupid stake*.”

*Basically a nickname in reference to a wooden stake she calls Randy to refer to his wooden/stiff personality.

Her fingertips were covered with sharp claw-like blades, and they were still stained with blood.

And there is no metal collar around her neck.

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