Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

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Chapter 136: Under the Black Robe

Nemo was stunned in place, and those sharp black shadows instantly dispersed.

“Don’t worry about us.” Ann landed and blocked his possible problems. “Forget Cross—you know me. I’m not considerate enough to die for your love life. We got a way, so get out of here while you still can!”

Nemo didn’t ask any more questions. He bowed slightly to his companions in the smoke.

The line of sight was obscured by smoke, and the spells were subtly cut off by lightning. He was influenced by other magic arrays, so he still had no way to skillfully control his spells. Fortunately, at this moment, he didn’t need to attack. He just needed to purely escape.

It was dangerous to split open a rift blindly, but he couldn’t be bothered at this moment. He just needed to make sure the rift wasn’t on the surface, and it didn’t happen to tear open any creatures. As for himself—no matter what was on the other side of the rift, he wouldn’t die easily.

Nemo made a simple gesture, and a long rift was pulled out of the space in front of him. His figure quickly disappeared behind it.

“All right.” Ann licked her lips, and the smoke she had raised dissipated. “Now it’s going according to the original plan, Cross.”

Not so long ago, in a room at the Roadside Town inn.

“…He cut off communication.” Ann frowned at the communication crystal that quickly dimmed in her hand. “My intuition is telling me that this kid is probably going to do something stupid. His attitude hasn’t been right these past two days. Even if you consider Oliver’s situation, it’s too wrong.”

“I’ve inquired. The Knights of Judgment are led by Lord Waldron.” The former knight commander’s expression tightened. “It’s impossible for Mr. Light to retreat after ‘handling’ the superior demon. That person has always been meticulous. He must’ve laid out enough defenses. Even for Mr. Light, it’s impossible to completely avoid conflict—”

“What? Do you think he’ll kill them?” Jesse was sitting on the table, stuffing a fried bean pastry with salt grains into his mouth.

“I don’t think so,” Adrian replied dryly, while glancing at Jesse. “After all, the Knights of Judgment are there. Morally speaking, he can just stay out of it.”

“According to the nosy character of that little fool, the situation probably can’t be solved by the knights.” The female warrior looked out the window. The newly hatched demon was squirming in the forest, emitting a terrifying power. “What should I do, Cross? If I guess correctly, he probably thinks that he will be exposed.”

So he drew the line with them in advance.

“Mr. Light is indeed powerful,” Adrian’s expression became uglier, “but after all, he’s still just a civilian who has only experienced several battles. He should not have the skills to deal with war-style attacks. Although I don’t think he’ll kill them…”

Conflict was inevitable, and whether it was Nemo Light or the Knights of Judgment, neither party was really “ready” for this battle.

“Not to mention the severity of this situation. If he really acts against the Knights of Judgment, then it doesn’t matter whether his identity is exposed or not.” Ann lowered her gaze. “Considering what happened to the Abyssal Church, he’ll be recognized as an ‘enemy’, right Cross?”

“…And Nemo took this into account,” she tugged the corners of her mouth helplessly.

Strictly speaking, the risk of exposure was already high. After all, on their previous mission, no one expected that things would turn out this way. Their mission to sneak into the Abyssal Church was beautifully executed, and the information was clearly kept in the Mercenary Guild. It was only a matter of time before Tumbleweed became a target. Under the siege of the Knights of Judgment, Nemo’s identity was also at considerable risk of exposure.

Therefore, he completely pushed them out of this matter. As long as they insisted on not knowing, they could not be convicted.

When she picked the two of them up by the Border Forest, Nemo was still a shy young man with strange powers. Ann could see that he had been afraid that they would leave him because of those abnormalities.

But now, in order not to implicate them, they were left behind by him first.

“I’ll distract them. That asshole kid wants to play a sad hero by himself? Fuck no,” Ann said sternly, turning to Adrian with a flat expression. “You know, if I can get the Preceptor Bishop to recognize me, I should be able to buy some time. At least he won’t do anything to me—forget about you. They’re dying to take you back with them.”

Adrian Cross looked at her in silence for a long time.

“I’ll go with you. I know their offensive attacks, so I can delay them as well,” a few minutes later, he spoke, while quietly looking sideways at the blond young man beside him. Jesse was sucking the salt grains that were stuck to his fingers. “So what are your plans?”

“Why are you helping him?” Jesse picked up another fried bean pastry from the paper bag and chewed loudly. “Isn’t this a great opportunity to see Mr. Light’s true nature? Forget Ms. Savage; I don’t think you’re the kind of person who’s easily moved.”

“That’s right,” Adrian’s voice was as cold as ever. “I don’t intend to ‘help’ Mr. Light.”

Indeed, he was completely different from Ann Savage. He didn’t intend to act for emotional reasons such as “friendship”. His reason should be colder and more negative…

To be fair, from the perspective of a guardian of mankind, he didn’t think there was anything wrong with the Preceptor Bishop’s caution, but Light wasn’t wrong.

Nemo Light wasn’t human, and he had no position to require Light to adhere to human moral standards. And he wasn’t qualified to do any test of nature—to look on with indifference to the suffering of others and even contribute to their pain, and pin everything on the hope that “the other party is a saint”; if the other party didn’t hold true, they would shout, “I knew it would be like this” and “he doesn’t deserve to be treated well”, then logically began to deny and attack.

He had seen this before, Adrian thought bitterly. He had seen it countless times by the side of his close friend, Cahill Edwards.

Rather than expect Light to knock out his teeth and swallow blood*, he was more inclined to destroy the desperate situation that might be coming.

*(打落牙齿和血吞) Metaphor for extreme helpless forbearance. It symbolizes getting your teeth knocked out but holding back the anger in one’s heart and swallowing it into your stomach along with the blood. || It’s basically saying he doesn’t expect Nemo to just take what’s to come and let go of all grievances (no matter how unjust it would be to him).

“I’m just doing my job and protecting my compatriots.” Adrian picked up the metal bow on the table and then looked directly into Jesse Dylan’s eyes. “Seeing others in a desperate situation, rather than lending a helping hand, and instead judging that person’s ‘nature’; I personally don’t like this approach—after all, Mr. Light has no obligation to be merciful to mankind.”

“Wow, I really like this about you,” Jesse said affectionately, quickly stuffing the fried bean pastry into Adrian’s mouth, completely ignoring the frowning brow of the other party. “You don’t have to look so sad. Haa, I actually have a better idea.”

He grinned at the two of them, laughing like a fox who had stolen meat.

So far, it turned out that Jesse’s idea was indeed good—except for a little awkwardness.

The billowing black smoke was dispelled by a spell and the restraint and interference arrays once again tied the black figure tightly and continued to nibble at the wide robe that condensed into a black shadow. The female warrior’s face was covered in soot as she guided thunder and lightning to disrupt the knight’s formation. Adrian Cross generously pulled his bow and arrow to make sure that no attack successfully got near the dark omen.

These two people were so terribly strong, but they didn’t carry out any real attacks. They just defended blindly. In front of the large number of Knights of Judgment, failure was inevitable.

Felix Waldren, the Preceptor Bishop, was raging with anger.

Both of them were using surface magic. The dark omen really had human companions, and the possibility of being a “lonely and powerful superior demon” decreased instantly. This made him breathe a sigh of relief. Felix originally wanted to issue an order to thoroughly investigate all groups and teams that had been active in the Abyssal Church and nearby, trying to find this possibility. Unexpectedly, they saved him a lot of time and sent the information right to his doorstep.

But after he saw one of them clearly, he almost had a heart attack.

“Temporarily suspend the dragon breath stone fort’s charging.” He pinched his brow fiercely. “Damn. Why is Cross with that dark omen? No… When did he regain his strength?!”

But even the famous “Shining Morning Star” could not use defensive magic to repel the experienced Knights of Judgment. The attacks of the Knights of Judgment became more concentrated and finally completely tore open the black robes condensed by the dark shadows.

“Oh—you guys have gone too far!” The man under the black robe sighed, and his voice was full of suffocation. “I’m obviously here to help.”

The dark omen revealed its true face, but it wasn’t what they had imagined.

It was a blond young man who was a little too beautiful, and he even made an angry look. He changed hands, holding the staff that was emitting abyssal magic from his right to his left hand, then used his right hand to flip everyone off.

“This is really too much!” he shouted.

Naturally, the Knights of Judgment who have been on the battlefield wouldn’t be fascinated by a man’s beautiful skin, but the face was really difficult to rile up their fighting spirit, not to mention the man had stopped attacking. What was more…

After the battlefield calmed down, the shadowy figure next to the man became more familiar. The tall man wore a stiff monk’s uniform, had firm eyes and deep brows, and a warm white light arrow on his metal bow. That was the role model they had dreamed of that inexplicably collapsed overnight—the former Chief Justice, Adrian Cross.

Such a strange situation.

Everyone was completely confused. The knights had to strengthen their restraints while lost, waiting for the next instruction from the Preceptor Bishop.

“Ms. Savage and darling Adri.” Jesse deliberately lengthened his tone, admiring the wonderful faces of the Knights of Judgment. “You can stop.”

The two warriors finally put down their weapons and stood beside the blond young man, surrounded by the Knights of Judgment. Seeing that the situation was stable, the Preceptor Bishop stepped to his feet and rose into the air, glaring down at the beautiful blond young man.

And the other party gave him an exceptionally bright smile in return.

“May I ask your excellency?” Felix coughed a few times, trying not to look at Adrian Cross. “You don’t seem to have any plans to fight. I hope from the bottom of my heart that all this is just an unfortunate misunderstanding.” Before he could relax his vigilance, the Preceptor Bishop took a deep breath. “May I ask a question—why did you attack just now?”

“Jesse Dylan.” Jesse stuck a finger into his ear and dug it out nonchalantly. “Why attack? My God, you all surrounded me! You see, I just helped you solve a big problem. No one likes to receive this kind of ‘thank you’, am I right?”

“The responsibility lies with me.” Felix frowned. “I’m sorry for causing you trouble, but please understand. After all, you just used abyssal magic—”

“Do you suspect that I’m a demon? No, no, no. I’m just a good Samaritan passing by.” Jesse’s voice became more aggrieved. Ann, who lowered her face to the side, couldn’t help covering it. “It’s just the effect of this staff. You can check it. I’m definitely not a demon. Absolutely not!”

“Then your disguise—” Seeing the opponent’s face lit up in an instant, the Preceptor Bishop subconsciously wanted to swallow back his question, but it was too late.

“Because I like to do good deeds without leaving a name. After all, I’m too strong, and it would always cause unnecessary trouble,” Jesse covered his chest as he said deeply. “You see, we just caught an Abyssal believer who did evil. Then I found out that something was wrong here, so I easily solved it. You should know how urgent the situation is, right? If you doubt me, that villain is still locked up in the Roadside Town inn.”

“Now that you found me, can we pretend that we haven’t met each other?”

“I’m afraid that won’t do,” the Preceptor Bishop said with difficulty. Mr. Dark Omen was too lively, and his brain couldn’t compute. “You have to… come with us and let the Pope confirm…”

Adrian Cross instantly moved his gaze to the blond young man beside him. He was close enough to see the playful smile that suddenly appeared in the exaggerated expression.

“Alright,” Jesse Dylan said in a very reluctant tone, “but I have a condition—if I’m not a demon, you have to make compensation.”

“Of course.”

“My companions don’t have to go with me, do they? I know you’re curious about my darling Adri’s situation, so I won’t push the issue on that, but the lady; there are still things in our team that need to be dealt with…”

“…Let her go.” There was no aura of abyssal magic on that woman, and the Preceptor Bishop was too tired to tussle with the issue. The words “darling Adri” almost broke his nerves beyond their limits.

“Great,” Jesse threw the staff to the Knights of Judgment, and in an instant, sealing magic wrapped it in layers. “Let’s go then.”

The lights of Roadside Town were still flashing. The people didn’t know why the demon suddenly disappeared, but it didn’t prevent the grand festival from starting. The backyard of the Ramon’s inn was packed with singing and dancing. Drinks, bonfires, and music filled the small area, giving off the atmosphere of joy as usual.

However, the son of the previous owner, the person who should have owned this lively area, had not been well in the past few days.

Three days ago.

The “corpse” in the weird condition didn’t lie on the floor for long. Not long after the invisible flame burned down the meteor hammer, heavily armed Gatekeepers entered the cell. They didn’t intend to take the weird knight away, but instead put the same restraint as his collar on the limbs of the unconscious body.

Finally, the unnatural sense of oppression in the cell disappeared. The death row prisoners in the cell stared at the visitors in silence while remaining motionless.

After doing this, the leader pressed his hand on the chest of the strange knight, and a fluctuation of magic instantly spread in the air. The originally unconscious person coughed twice and opened his eyes with great difficulty.

“According to regulations, I should have given you a recovery spell,” the Gatekeeper said gruffly, regardless of whether the other party really regained consciousness. “But I don’t want to do this. Think about it again, 300,000. Kill someone at will, and you can still go to the mobile barracks.”

“Don’t blame me for not reminding you. Our combat zone is much gentler than the test zone.” He seemed to have thought of something and snorted with cold dissatisfaction before casually glancing at the dark cell.

The knight on the ground sat up with difficulty, lowered his head, as if looking at the new restraint on his wrist.

“…Besides, these wastes will die sooner or later. Some are prisoners of war, while others are refugees with poor combat capabilities. Their country doesn’t need them, and their relatives do not feed them. It’s better not to treat them as human beings.”

The young man wearing a skeleton helmet stretched out his hand and held the blood-stained hilt of the sword.

The sound of breathing in the cell subsided, accompanied by the sounds of small huffing and rustling movements. People subconsciously wanted to hide, but they didn’t know where to hide, so they could only stop breathing in vain. The value of this person was terrifying, and they had already experienced the abnormal fluctuation of his power firsthand.

Everyone knew very well that they were just consumables used by the Gatekeepers to sharpen this weapon. People more or less knew what had happened in the gladiatorial arena, and after receiving enough malice, the eccentric knight’s kindness and patience should have come to an end.

It was going to kill. Numb thoughts swirled in the heads of the death row prisoners, but no one could afford to mentally resist.

Yes, that’s it. The person in charge of the combat zone thought with relief. As long as this kid was willing to bow his head before the formalities were completed, he would still be a valuable asset to the combat zone. Bluntly put, they never thought he would be so stubborn and let people in the test area take advantage of this. Now this young man should know how strong he was, and he wouldn’t willingly submit to all this muck…

But the figure stood up staggeringly and didn’t look at him again.

The monster-like young knight retracted into the corner, holding his sword with both hands and posing in a defensive posture. He didn’t attack, didn’t speak, and was silent like a stone statue.

The mole-like man in the corner let out a sob. The strong man who had lost his weapon clenched the remaining handle of the meteor hammer in his hand and said nothing.

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The author has something to say:

Jesse: Let me tell you, you are besieging good people! Isn’t that right, darling Adri?

Preceptor Bishop: …You stop talking.

Jesse: I can go with you guys, but you have to pay for the mental damage first, right darling Adri?

Preceptor Bishop: That’s enough. You should really stop talking.

Jessie: Darling Adri~

The knight pretended not to hear anything.

————————

I’m… finally beginning to be unable to bear the separation of Nemo and Ollie. I always felt that something’s not right. _(;””∠)_

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

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Chapter 135: Fading Stars

Demons and monsters were the first to discover the changes in the Border Forest, much earlier than humans.

It was a bloody human arm that was thrown away by the garrison of Roadside Town into the damp shrubs. It would have rotted quickly and then turned into a broken piece of corpse that wasn’t an uncommon sight in the Border Forest, but instead of rotting, it remained in its original state in the hot and humid woods, faintly exuding an aura that made demons extremely uncomfortable. Even ordinary insects and beasts without demon blood subconsciously avoid the strange flesh.

It lay there quietly among the rotting leaves and dirt. Its growing powers seduced the surrounding creatures, but aggressive fluctuations pushed them away.

Until an injured earth dragon swallowed it.

The earth dragons had a medium IQ and a big head, but their reactions weren’t very responsive. They didn’t have an overly complex mind. People didn’t have much interest in this kind of intermediate demon. The earth dragons lived in the deep, dark lairs of the Border Forest. Their flesh was rough and poisonous, and their scales, skins, and bones were of little practical use. They only move in groups in small areas of activity, looking for other creatures’ eggs, rotting meat, and juicy water mushrooms, the latter in particular.

They often passed through shrubs in droves, sniffing at rotten roots and marking stumps where the mushrooms may grow. They were extremely cautious, and once a powerful predator approached, the earth dragons would quickly evacuate under the command of the leader.

It all started with an accident.

Humans held testing activities in the forest from time to time, and the life in the forest had long been accustomed to it. Not long ago, a superior demon appeared inexplicably in this event, but fortunately, it took the initiative to dedicate its flesh and blood. The active predators successfully got a piece of the action, and their strength soared, causing the balance in the forest to begin to tilt.

Unfortunately, this didn’t include the cautious earth dragons, and it was because of this that after Pandorater left its collapsed flesh and blood, this caution became the cause of the disaster—with their leader’s judgment, no earth dragon took a piece of Pandorater’s flesh, so none could resist the sudden strengthening of their natural enemies. The number of earth dragons had declined sharply, and the survivors had to run around daily to escape with their lives.

They finally had nowhere to go.

The leader of the earth dragon had lost an eye and a leg. The flesh on its chest was torn apart by fangs, revealing white ribs. Its companions screamed in its ears, pleading for the baby earth dragons that hadn’t even had the chance to hatch.

Its race was about to disappear.

There was a vague and painful groan in the throat of the leader of the earth dragons. Its breathing became more ragged. Remorse tormented it, along with toxins seeping from its wounds. The dying demon lowered its head and arched its nose over the arm on the ground.

As a kind of creature that wasn’t intelligent, its idea was simple and direct. Since it would die anyway, it was better to try to become stronger and win a glimmer of hope for its kind.

Wasn’t there still a piece of flesh of a superior demon here? Even if the rejection and fear derived from instinct numbed its brain and the overly intense fluctuations in power almost took away its standing strength; even if it was scared, extremely scared, this was still an option. The instinct of survival and the responsibility as a leader tore at each other in the small skull of the earth dragon, and it almost fell into chaos.

The earth dragon let out a small whine, struggled in place for a long time, and finally swallowed the dismembered arm into his stomach.

Then it sank into thick darkness.

It didn’t know how long it took before it finally saw light again. The world had never been so clear, and the majestic power was pouring out of its body, but what followed was pain. The body melted and deformed, and its heart almost burst. The earth dragon instinctively sensed something bad. It could smell the breath of death close at hand.

But it didn’t matter. It thought for a moment that it still had time to clean up the enemies of its species. Despite being puzzled by the suddenly smaller trees and mountains, it raised its head and began to sadly call for its group.

The Preceptor Bishop, Felix Waldron, was anxious.

He hadn’t had a good night’s sleep since arriving in Roadside Town. The Knights of Judgment persuasion to the civilians didn’t have any practical effect, and the people who left were far fewer than the adventurers who came to inquire about the news. At the behest of the Preceptor Bishop, the Knights of Judgment of the Laddism Church had laid down the highest level of defense. To ensure that the response was fast enough, half of the troops were on standby in the area adjacent to the demon cocoon, while the other half stepped up inspections and threw every demon worshiper nearby into the dungeon.

This thing was extremely dangerous, was the hunch that the Preceptor Bishop had. The current situation couldn’t tolerate anyone from the Abyssal Church disrupting it. Although the Abyssal Church’s headquarter was gone, greatly affecting their vitality, he couldn’t relax his vigilance because of this.

“Pull the dragon breath stone fort to the southwest corner. The defensive formation there is too weak and could be used as a breakthrough point,” he ordered in a numb voice. “Where are the demon toxins? Is it all ready? We have to prepare for the worst—”

A violent earthquake suddenly struck, and the sound of flesh tearing through the night sky made everyone’s skin tighten. A mass of a deformed creature fell from the cocoon, then the cocoon melted and disappeared like hot wax.

A strong sense of oppression followed, as if a blacksmith’s hammer instantly shattered all the ribs in one’s chest. Even under the layers of protection of the magic arrays, the Preceptor Bishop still vomited a mouthful of blood.

“Team 17, go to Roadside Town!” The middle-aged Preceptor Bishop bent down slightly as he shouted in a trembling tone. “Go to the most crowded place to stabilize the scene and guide them to evacuate! This is a superior demon. A complete superior demon…”

What came out of the cocoon looked like an immature dragon embryo, not healthy or normal. It let out a sharp and unpleasant howl, crawling on the ground as if struggling. A dark, shadow-like liquid flowed from the cracks in the Abyss, quietly entangling the newly born demon, and the pain in the demon’s howl became heavier.

It’s the law. Felix thought that the complete superior demon wouldn’t be able to come after all. The demon who violated the law was about to die, but why was the sense of oppression getting stronger?

“Kenyatta’s gunners should be in place. The dragon breath stone fort is on standby,” he raised a hand.

“Lord Waldren!”

“I said, standby. This thing can’t get out of control. Absolutely not.”

“We’re always willing to dedicate ourselves to the glory of Zenni, but if the fort blows over, you’ll also…”

“Nonsense! I’m the commander!” The Preceptor Bishop roared. The skin on his neck flushed with anger. “I must grasp all its changes immediately. Standby! Damn it—”

The oppression of the superior demon suddenly weakened sharply.

The sudden changes were the most terrifying part of this extremely abnormal situation. The Preceptor Bishop Felix almost ordered to fire with his shaking hand, until another steady and familiar sense of oppression appeared. Felix raised his head with some difficulty, subconsciously looking at the source of another powerful force.

The dark omen.

He still looked the same, with a black robe condensed into a black shadow, and his face wasn’t visible. He held an equally dark staff in his hand. The ominous figure floated in mid-air, one hand pointing in the direction of the superior demon, motionless.

This was truly the worst time.

Felix made a quick decision. He made a quick gesture, and the defensive array was launched, layer by layer, like a blooming white epiphyllum. ‘This was a great time to confirm the identity and position of this “dark omen”,’ he thought calmly. ‘How lucky.’ He may have the chance to die with the most terrifying demon.

Nemo stepped in the air.

He didn’t have time to be afraid of this height, and he didn’t even dare to be distracted by the defensive array that was launched by the Laddism Church. At that moment, all his attention was fixated on the superior demon who was still struggling. The dazzling star flickered frantically in his mind, and its thoughts and shouts also pierced his brain.

It was the leader of the earth dragons. It was calling for its most cherished thing, its group.

But no one came.

Perhaps it had been sleeping for too long. Nemo could sense there were few life reactions from the earth dragons in the forest. He didn’t dare to convey the news to it. It was still calling non-stop, and its cries became sadder.

Nemo closed his eyes. He emptied his mind, trying to touch the dazzling star. Finally, under the light, he could clearly see the complicated magic circuits like capillaries.

Sure enough.

He always thought that magic came from the ability of the creatures themselves, but now it seemed that the opposite was true. What it returned to him was pure energy, and what flowed out of him was “abyssal magic”.

It was like a transaction.

When they first met, he didn’t think there was anything to Jesse Dylan’s metaphor. Yes, it was no wonder why he could only use abyssal magic without any need for spells and prayers… No, now it seemed that those mysterious spells and prayers were just signals for trading.

And the “stars” in his mind—whether they used abyssal magic or not—returned pure energy. Although he didn’t know why they kept flashing like real stars, he had learned enough facts. Nemo carefully dredged the power in the demon’s body to make it less violent.

The power of this demon was so powerful that the subtle fluctuations felt like the tide. The exchange and flow of power gradually became clearer, and the starry sky in his mind began to expand. It was getting wider and clearer.

This was the first time he had close contact with the flow of power after he had his definite guess. Now, Nemo’s mind was as clear as ice, and his cognition had never been so real. It really wasn’t detection magic. It wasn’t even magic. It was just pure… Perception.

The perception of those lives that were connected to him and provided him with strength. It was like perceiving petals falling on the skin. Those who had just been born, those who were about to die. Born as a demon or making a contract with a demon. Countless stars appeared quickly, one by one, lit up in his mind, and began to flicker.

Oliver, who had a contract with him, had the ability to use abyssal magic. Now he could be sure—as long as he had this ability, even if he didn’t use it, Oliver would become his source of strength. Then, naturally, he would be able to find the star that belongs to Oliver.

He finally clung to a glimmer of hope, but he couldn’t take back his abandoned limb—he still couldn’t save the dying earth dragon.

The newborn superior demon didn’t move. It roared sadly, its voice becoming more desperate. Finally, an earth dragon responded to the call. The weak earth dragon dragged its wounded body and looked up suspiciously at the unknown monster in front of it—and the dying superior demon lowered its head, wanting to sniff its own kind and be intimate as usual.

However, it hadn’t yet learned how to control its power.

Under the excessive pressure, the weak earth dragon instantly became a pile of flesh.

The deformed superior demon let out a sharp roar. The light of the defensive array suddenly became a little heavier. Its power was still increasing, but it may have now recognized the sad fact.

At this time, that power was no longer important.

It began to struggle violently and roared with all its strength, but only one person could understand its meaning. Nemo took a deep breath, and the smell of the forest mixed with flesh and blood rushed straight to his nose. He took out the communication crystal in his pocket with slightly trembling hands and glanced at the Knights of Judgment, who had gradually gathered due to the abnormal condition.

“Ann,” he said gently and softly. “You guys go. The farther away, the better. It can get dangerous here.”

“Nemo? ……What are you planning?” The voice of the female warrior came from the other side of the crystals. “We just caught the bastard you said—”

“I need to deal with that superior demon. You should be able to see it now. It’ll be over soon… Now I can find Oliver and I’ll act as soon as it’s over.”

“Then what?”

“…Then I’ll go to you with Ollie,” he lied. “You can take advantage of this time to send the prisoner to the Insular Court.”

“But…”

“Promise me, okay?”

Nemo didn’t wait for Ann to answer. He directly crushed the crystal that was still flashing. ‘I’m really not good at saying goodbye,’ Nemo thought.

The superior demon in front of him was crying bitterly. Its power was so strong that it began to corrode its body; strong enough for it to detect the condition of the entire forest.

It had long since lost its reason to fight.

The former earth dragon wept helplessly, praying in a voice that no one understood from the swollen flesh. Unlike when he was participating in the Black Chapter’s test, Nemo no longer treated those thoughts as mystical murmurs.

This superior demon was just like Pandorater. It found him and began to pray.

[Kill me.] It spoke. [Kill me.]

[I’m so sad.]

[I made a mistake.]

[Kill me.]

It kept repeating.

“Okay,” Nemo responded dryly. “I’m really…”

He didn’t care about the gathering Knights of Judgment anymore. He didn’t care about how many pairs of eyes were watching. There were originally only two choices for him—either let go of his power and confine the explosion to a small space or wipe out the superior demon before the explosion.

He shouldn’t be so sad. It made a request, the least painful way. Everyone would be safe, but…

“I’m really, really sorry.”

Nemo murmured repeatedly. He cut off those circuits and extinguished the star, as if gently blowing out a burning candle.

The huge superior demon disappeared.

There was no exploding flesh; no splashing of blood. It quietly turned into ashes in an instant—ashes fluttered in the night sky, like falling snow in winter. It slowly fell on the armor of the Knights of Judgment, before accumulating into a thin layer on the ground.

He didn’t have the slightest fatigue after consuming his strength. Only unspeakable heaviness and sadness.

Nemo turned around and felt the vast starry sky in his mind. Virgil’s intel was more valuable than he thought—there was more than one dazzling star in the starry sky, but only one was in Walden.

In other words, the Withered Castle.

Oliver was there.

But before he could taste this rare little joy, the familiar despair struck again. The star was darkening at an abnormal speed. It was extinguishing, and he was about to lose it.

The snow-like ashes had not completely scattered to the ground and for a moment, his body seemed to really have turned into bitter winter.

‘I have to hurry,’ Nemo thought. ‘Go there immediately. I must be quick—’

But as he expected, several surveillance and restraint spells came at the same time. This crisis was over, but the Knights of Judgment naturally wouldn’t leave. A more terrifying threat than a superior demon was at hand.

Compared with before, the atmosphere of the Knights of Judgment was more tense. When power exceeded a certain limit, position and motivation were no longer important. They would no longer use his behavior as a main basis for judging whether he was good or evil. Nemo fully understood this, but right now he didn’t have the time or energy to entangle with the people in front of him.

What was waiting for him would be their attempts to stall him while more troops and support arrived. The Knights of Judgment were still trying to protect Roadside Town and the people.

Protect them from him.

‘There could be a peaceful solution,’ Nemo thought to himself. As long as he was willing to cooperate, make a harmless appearance, and obediently dispel their doubts, but that would take time, maybe lots of time…

Which he didn’t have.

Black shadows rose into the air, their sharp shadow blades pressing against the throats and eyes of the knights.

“Remove the restraint arrays,” Nemo shouted in a cold voice. “Please get out of the way!”

The knights didn’t move. They stayed firmly, guarding the twinkling town behind them. Countless restraint arrays wrapped around Nemo’s body, slowly gnawing at the dark shadow. His disguise was about to break.

They were indeed heroic and upright people, but the star that belonged only to him was about to fade.

“Get out of the way—” Nemo repeated it again, trying to suppress the crying in his voice. He exerted his own binding spells in vain as the magic belonging to the surface would not follow his instructions. The magic array that had been arranged in all hidden directions interfered with his judgment. He couldn’t find the right strength, and he was likely to hurt everyone by mistake. “I don’t want to fight with you!”

He couldn’t handle multitasking at this moment. He knew a faster way—ignore all their defenses and spells, stop trying to talk, and directly use enough power to crush all the lives present.

He couldn’t do it.

He heard someone on the surface arguing about firing. Although Nemo didn’t know what the dragon breath stone fort was, he could probably understand what the other party was trying to say. They didn’t mean to compromise, and they wanted to die together.

“I don’t want to fight with you,” he repeated, trying to repair the disguise woven by the black shadows, but as soon as his attention was distracted, the shadow blade threatening the knights suddenly began to shake, so more binding and restraint arrays came.

Time was too tight. Perhaps there was only one way.

His disguise was about to peel off, and this place was likely soon to be destroyed. All the magic arrays used to deal with the superior demon were being used on him, but he didn’t want to hurt others. He may not be able to master his strength, but serious injuries were better than death.

He might never be able to go back. Nemo finally glanced at the twinkling town not far away, ready to take a risk.

But another force broke out earlier. After a loud explosion, countless plumes of smoke and dust rose from the Border Forest in an instant. A myriad of lightning flashed across the edge of the dense black smoke.

A hand stretched out and took the staff from Nemo’s hand.

“Go find your Oliver,” another voice came from not far away. “I can’t believe you’ve learned how to lie, you bastard.”

The female warrior turned her spear. “Cross and I know better than you how to deal with these guys.”

She smiled at him and raised her hand.

“This smoke will only help interrupt their binding spells for a bit. Now get lost!”

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Kinky Thoughts:

Oh, I cried this chapter. The poor earth dragon. Nemo’s feelings. Ahh…

Did anyone make the connection? The skull helmet Ollie’s wearing is an earth dragon’s skull. I love these small details.

I also love how everything is intertwined and connected. Previous events in this novel have led to the present consequences. Things just aren’t happening out of nowhere. Everything is connected. Ahhh so good!

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

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Chapter 134: Demon Cocoon

Ramon’s inn was still lively. After becoming a wanted criminal, Oliver was deprived of his identity as the owner. He didn’t know who in town took it over, but they didn’t convert it to another use and kept it running as it was.

Originally, the inn didn’t have a name, which saved the trouble of changing the signboard. Not to mention the cooks who usually came to help, not even the gardeners hired for the small garden had changed. If anything was different—the handsome and enthusiastic boss was buried in a public cemetery, next to his wife, who had been dead for many years. There was no young figure running back and forth in the inn, and no kind person playing the ukulele from time to time in the tavern in town.

That was it.

Fortunately, the new owner didn’t plan to deal with the giant fir in the backyard. Nemo shrank like a shadow on the top of the tree, looking at the huge demon cocoon not far away.

The dark red cocoon was ten meters high, like a small mountain peak. Countless strands of translucent fascia were wrapped around it, and the end was twisted into a meat rope that reached out in all directions. Their ends weren’t attached to the surface but penetrated the cracks in space suspended in the air and suddenly disappeared halfway. Ominous firelight was being projected through the small cracks.

Nemo could feel his own power pulsating in the cocoon. It was extremely unstable.

At the behest of the Preceptor Bishop, the Knights of Judgement never stopped persuading the civilians. People of all religions organized their own gatherings near the cocoon, trying to understand its true situation.

However, there was probably only one person in the world who knew the truth about it.

Nemo knew very well that that thing would blow up sooner or later, and it made no sense for people to evacuate or not. It should have been some confused intermediate demon that had swallowed the arm. There was only one reason why it hasn’t blown up yet. At the beginning, he fully believed that he was just an ordinary person, and he didn’t have any concept of the specific practice of “abandonment”, resulting in the loss of a piece of flesh that could only be regarded as a half-assed gift of power. It was both a miracle and a poison. The demons should have noticed this instinctively.

But one of them overcame the instinctive warning and swallowed it.

The instantaneous skyrocketing power caused it to form a cocoon immediately, and an extremely powerful superior demon was about to be born. Then it would go out of control and be quickly destroyed, but when it did blow up, dozens of nearby towns would not survive.

Nemo knew this very well, but he had no clue what to do. At present, he could only do his best to suppress the force and try to rely on it to understand the narrow starry sky in his mind. But the state of that thing was too dangerous, like a crumbling house of cards. He didn’t dare to push too hard, so he could only rack his brain to grasp the subtle boundaries.

For three days, there was no progress.

The miracle didn’t happen, and there was no light in the chaos. The world around him was moving rapidly, and only he stopped. Every minute and every second were like a jagged blade, constantly cutting his nerves. His progress shouldn’t be so slow. Oliver was likely to die while he was struggling for answers, and Nemo knew this.

First, next to the cocoon, then the edge of Roadside Town, and finally here. He watched himself quietly fall into despair, and finally extended his hand to the only relief—

The way to rescue Ollie did exist. It was literally in front of him.

Nemo hugged his knees, buried his face between them and said nothing. The backyard of the inn was extremely lively. The warm lights illuminated the night sky, but they couldn’t illuminate the top of the tree. People’s laughter and songs came from under it while the cocoon continued to be silent. Roadside Town had become livelier—the sounds seemed to come from another world.

When he was far away at the bottom of the Abyss, he firmly believed that these vague sounds could be pursued; he just stayed away from them. Those songs, those laughter, Oliver’s voice. As long as he kept moving forward, he would be able to reach them.

Nemo thought to himself how close he was now to them, but he had been completely separated from them.

And “his corpse”, the one who could restore all his memories, lay not far from him. Ulysses’ terrifying skull was still in place. Not far away lay a bunch of completely dried and decayed flowers. There was obvious damage to the skull. Nemo guessed that it was a bone fragment that had been cut away earlier. The half-person-sized skull just stared at him with empty eye sockets, which made the scene quite absurd.

Nemo knew that it had all the answers he wanted to know.

The solution to the current situation lay in the secrets of the starry sky and the long and dark memories. Yes, when he was still “normal”, he would experience various discomforts every time he approached here. He only thought it was a coincidence at the beginning, but now Nemo finally understood…

That was his subconscious resistance.

“Nemo Light” wasn’t a complete Demon King, but a brief illusion. This illusion rejected the entire memory and desired to exist in vain in order to escape the long darkness for a few short decades.

But since it was an illusion, “Nemo Light” was destined to disappear.

Nemo didn’t dare to look at it more. He sat a few steps away from the skull, accepting the ridicule of his own corpse. The incompetent and confused Demon King who wielded power was at a loss. His companions were running around for him, his hometown was about to be destroyed by his unintentional actions, and his lover… was suffering far away.

And here he was wasting time and didn’t successfully solve any problems. Every passing second screamed at his failure.

Restore your memory and master everything. His brain, tangled with anxiety and eagerness, was roaring. To rescue a human, one who has all the knowledge and memories can definitely do it.

Nemo gritted his teeth. He tasted a little blood in his mouth. The pain was real and deep, as he thought desperately. If he really restored all his memories, would he give a flash of mercy to the surface because of these pains? Or would he laugh at these weak feelings and bring real disaster to the surface?

Of course, nothing may happen when he restored his memory, or his recovery and awakening itself would bring a huge catastrophe leading to disasters. It may save everyone, but it was more likely to destroy everything.

The power to save Oliver was within his reach.

Nemo raised his head and looked at the huge skull again.

He didn’t reach out his hand after all.

This gamble was too dangerous. He smiled weakly. Nemo Light of Roadside Town liked to escape, but this time he couldn’t escape before despair. They agreed never to leave each other behind. Oliver must still be alive, and he must firmly believe this.

Oliver wouldn’t give up, so neither should he. He couldn’t deceive himself into ignoring risks, and he couldn’t give up on himself wishfully.

The lights went out and the voices disappeared. The black-haired young man sat motionless in the same place, blending with the deepening night. Keep thinking. Nemo held the staff tightly in his arms as he bit his lower lip unconsciously. He must continue to think.

Until a sound of flapping wings cut through the silence.

Something stopped on top of the huge skull. A black bird turned its head, looking at Nemo through the three pairs of eyes embedded in the bird’s beak, and then tilted its head at him. It jumped on the skull twice, with only one foot, made a rude retching sound, and spat out a cylindrical copper letter.

It was a spiny corpse bird. It must be news for Duran Virgil. Mr. Cross had specifically contacted the exorcist before, and Virgil’s news came much faster than they thought, as if they had been prepared.

Nemo hurriedly grabbed the letter in his hand. It shook slightly as he unfolded it.

[I’m very sorry. We can’t determine the specific location of the Withered Castle. It’s constantly moving.]

The first sentence made his heart drop. Nemo took a deep breath and continued reading.

[We can only be sure that it’s in Walden. I hope this can help you.]

[In addition, I got inside information about Mr. Ramon’s trial. Although he didn’t know the reason, he did pass the knight test of Knight’s Heart, but he wasn’t recorded on any knight roster. The Insular Court found that he was a Knight of Silence. At least at this point, there was nothing irregular in the process of the Insular Court. I suggest starting from those following points…]

Nemo stopped moving his eyes. Oliver may not have made an impression, but he remembered it very clearly. In Noer’s tavern, by the river, the joking canonization ceremony.

Nemo clenched the thin sheet of paper in his hand. What are the criteria for judging a knight’s oath?

A leader or king who was clearly defined by most cognitions, rituals, and trust in each other. The elements of the contract were indeed complete, but he didn’t know who he was at that time…

No, there was no excuse. He wasn’t completely ignorant. His cognition was just sleeping, not non-existent. The battle with Witherspoon was enough to prove this.

This wasn’t the time to question. The contract was established in theory, and was now obviously established as fact. Even if it was unintentional, in the end, he was the one who caused this. No wonder Oliver was able to blend into the Church of Silence smoothly. He thought the other party had used some method he didn’t know. Thinking about it this way, there was no need to specifically create a trading seal for Oliver.

The contract between them had always existed.

Wait.

Nemo stopped breathing. If the contract between them had always existed, then Jesse Dylan’s words…

[You may not find the location of the Withered Castle, but you can find the star.]

He thought that those stars represented only demon worshipers, demon warlocks, and demons who could clearly use abyssal magic and had a “demonic aura”, but if he could also detect Oliver, the reason could only be the knight’s oath. This wasn’t natural. Oliver himself should have had no idea about the contract, let alone taken the initiative to use its power. Strictly speaking, Oliver was still a pure human being, not even a demon worshiper.

He hadn’t used abyssal magic, so he didn’t know about the contract. If this could be included in the “starry sky”…

Was it just because it had something to do with him? But it was impossible for him to have a contract with every demon, let alone those humans who were close to demons. If it was faith or something else… He could even feel the spider-dogs in the forest. He didn’t believe that they had religious beliefs.

[It’s not detection magic.]

If what he perceived wasn’t simply “demonic aura”, then what was it? Nemo looked at the cocoon again. The star belonging to the cocoon was dazzling. It was constantly flashing. It struggled under his careful control and continued to overflow with strength. Those powers drifted aimlessly next to his binding spell. Instead of attacking, they made his binding spell more stable.

No longer considering the “demonic aura”, leaving aside all established cognitions; after stripping away all the concepts, the scene was a bit untimely and hilarious—there was a steady stream of drifting power, and Nemo only felt that he was shaving a sheep that kept growing wool.

Wrong.

Nemo frowned. He emptied his mind for the first time and used all his power on perception.

It wasn’t overflowing. Those forces were coming at him.

…It was returning power. After confirming the Demon King’s suppression of superior demons, he originally thought it was just an ordinary power overflow that was snatched by him, so he didn’t think too deeply about it. If this “star” was like this, what about others? Nemo quickly turned his attention to other creatures in the forest, especially the miniscule subordinates who had no intelligence and the demon worshipers who had not been infected by a demon’s flesh.

They were doing the same thing.

Although it was so weak that it was almost imperceptible, it required special exploration to discover, but they were indeed doing exactly the same thing. They were undoubtedly sending him a steady stream of power.

And they only had two things in common: they were all alive, and they could all use abyssal magic directly. Whether it was by virtue of their own talents or the contract they acquired.

It had nothing to do with race, strength, or ancestry. Only these two points were similar.

Nemo stood up slowly. A guess gradually took shape in his mind. It was crazy and absurd, but the last thing he lacked now was absurd reality, so everything made sense, whether it was Jesse Dylan’s ability or the Demon King’s unnatural power.

There was only verification left.

Nemo stepped on the branch and jumped quickly towards the demon cocoon. After his figure left, another figure jumped to where he originally was. Jesse Dylan patted Ulysses’ skull with a helpless expression on his face.

“I thought I could meet an old acquaintance,” he said regretfully, looking in the direction of Nemo’s departure. “…Alas, I really can’t guess what you’re thinking.”

As soon as his voice fell, there was a strong tremor on the ground. The sleeping cocoon suddenly struggled, and then simply burst—followed by a shrill howl.

At that moment, a deformed superior demon finally broke out of the cocoon.

“You really caught up. If you slow down for a few minutes, I’m afraid only the two of us can ‘survive’.”

---

The author has something to say：

Nemo won’t forcibly restore his memory to save Oliver_(:D”∠)_

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Kinky Thoughts:

Everything is falling into place! I also now have a vague idea of what Jesse really is, but… I’ll discuss it in the discord server as not to potentially spoil the story.

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

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Chapter 133: Their Respective Fates

The corridors of the test zone were regular and clean. The body Telaranea currently possessed was more suitable for the battle zone. The scruffy middle-aged man rubbed his hair and yawned. The carved, thick metal door closed heavily behind him.

“What can I do for you?” he repeated vaguely.

The wide sleeves covered Mora’s clenched fists. Since leaving the village with Randy, she had forgotten how many people they had killed. Mora had long been accustomed to hiding in the dark like a predatory cat, calmly and quickly harvesting lives. This experience of being so nervous that it was difficult to breathe was brand new.

This was the superior demon they finally found. The third in fourteen years. She had to be careful not to make the other party feel unhappy. After confirming that there was no one around, the female killer carefully lifted her disguise.

“Lord Telaranea.” Mora lowered her head, not daring to breathe too hard.

Telaranea raised his eyebrows. He glanced at the other’s pocket casually and let out a casual sigh.

“I want to make a deal with you.” Mora didn’t seem to have her usual tone and sounded extraordinarily docile. “You may have heard of us—‘Sancho’s Grey Fox’.”

“’Sancho’s Gray Fox’,” Telaranea pressed his forehead. “I have a bit of an impression. An assassin who refuses to see people… But if my information is correct, the gray fox should be a man.”

“I’ll never lie to you, my Lord. “We, yes, the two of us, can be your swords and help you get rid of anyone cleanly,” Mora’s tone softened, as if she were speaking to a fragile human baby rather than a moody superior demon. “We only need a word from you.”

“Speak.” The demon remained undecided.

“…I hope you can recognize us.”

“What?” Telaranea tugged at his ears. “I seemed distracted just now.”

“I hope you can recognize us from the bottom of your heart,” the female assassin swallowed. “My lover and I are cursed. We need…”

“Need the blessing of a superior demon?” The demon sneered. “I’m very sorry, lovely lady. I can’t help you.”

The superior demon of the Withered Castle, Telaranea. They searched for this clue for eight years, but unfortunately, no one knew where the Withered Castle was, and that damn building would move its position from time to time. After confirming the credibility of the information, Randy deliberately went to prison. His strength was enough that he was picked up by the Gatekeepers without surprise.

They knew it was dangerous and crazy. It turned out that their pursuit was well worth it. She did find someone who matched the description, but the demon wasn’t vigilant after its identity was exposed and even accurately said the solution to the curse when she was just about to explain it. It was like…

Mora stopped breathing. She stood quietly in the distance. There was no pain or disappointment on her face, but her voice trembled slightly. “I… Can I know the reason?”

“Let me see, let me see. The demon who ‘cursed’ you. If I remember—was she wearing braided hair, had little freckles on her face, and was carrying a fruit basket full of apples?”

Mora stared at the demon in front of her tightly, bit her lower lip, and nodded very lightly.

“Oh, it seems that there was such a thing—it’s been fourteen years,” Telaranea scratched his cheek. “The reason? Simple. That demon was me. Why should I destroy the spell when I was the original caster?”

Sure enough.

The muscles in Mora’s face twitched. Her pretty face was slightly distorted. She stared at the “middle-aged man” in front of her in disbelief. Her breathing suddenly became extremely short.

“It’s really interesting. That experiment didn’t completely fail. I just randomly selected a hundred people as samples, and some really persisted to the present. I assumed ‘Sancho’s Gray Fox’ was a talent nurtured by an organization group, but I wasn’t expecting…” The demon showed an eager smile. “It turns out to be just the miller’s daughter and the blacksmith’s son, if I remember correctly. Mora Rodri and Randy Panther. Oh, humans grow up so fast.”

“Why?” This time, Mora’s voice suddenly became cold. Her originally soft gaze was instantly mixed into sharp thorns. There was no longer any slight politeness in her tone. “The two of us were just over fifteen at the time.”

That was the problem they had been unable to figure out. An unexplainable malice.

“Yes, the oath of young humans. Immature emotions,” Telaranea spread out his hands and said in a lazy voice. “That was the experiment. On one hand, it’s a decisive separation, producing a little regretful memory. On the other hand, it’s an abyss. The other 98 people have made the most reasonable choice, but you two… No wonder the success rate of the Gray Fox is so high. Most people can’t think of two assassins to watch out for at the same time. You took advantage of that curse in turn, didn’t you? Well done! What a rare sample!”

“Let me guess. The reason why you didn’t become a Black Chapter and directly step into the most chaotic business… is to find my compatriots faster?”

Mora didn’t answer. She slowly took a step back.

“If you want to use the dragon breath stone in your pocket…” Telaranea scratched his scalp, “You don’t have to. Killing me won’t solve your problem. I will pay a physical price at most, but what you will face will be a Withered Castle under complete martial law. That little boy is here too. Don’t you have to think about him?”

“You’ll tell on us.” Mora lowered the center of gravity of her body. Her hand had already touched the stone blade carved with runes.

“Oh, I can guarantee that I won’t.” The demon seemed to be in a good mood. He touched the walls with one hand. “Like I said, your precious samples, and it’s too boring to end like this.”

Mora hesitated for half a second, and within that half a second, a spell shield falling from the corridor completely separated the two of them.

“Why us?” Mora said in a hiss, smashing against the transparent shield. “Although we were young at that time, we absolutely didn’t offend you.”

“Look at what you’re saying. It’s like I hated you—” The demon turned around carelessly, exposing his back and began to move towards the room where he was originally. “Weren’t you doing the exact same thing at that time?”

Mora widened her eyes.

Of course, she remembered what they were doing at that time. She wanted a butterfly, so she caught one with Randy. She had forgotten what the butterfly looked like. She only remembered that it had very beautiful wings.

Like all teenagers who liked to collect treasures, they carefully put it in a glass bottle and admired it with fascination as it flew in the bottle. They even liked it a bit.

But when it died, it wasn’t a big event that was worth mentioning.

“Like you, I’m just observing and appreciating.” The demon waved his hand and walked away slowly. “Goodbye, lovely little girl.”

Mora was still standing where she was and didn’t make a sound. She just stood there, slowly regaining her disguise.

‘She have to find the next one,’ she thought numbly. They had to find the next superior demon.

She tasted despair for the first time. Unlike that butterfly, at least they and the demon could communicate. She thought they would have an opportunity, a chance for their pain to be understood. Even though the other party superficially understood, it was enough for them to be cursed.

But did they really have a chance? It had been fourteen years now, and the first six were considered lucky. They had found two superior demons on the most chaotic battlefield, and barely escaped with their lives under the ridicule of the other party. This time, it was eight years. What about next time?

The life span of regular humans wasn’t long, while the average life spans of assassins were even shorter. She didn’t have any uncontrollable desires. She just wanted to hold his hand, even once.

Yes, there was no hope, but it wasn’t completely desperate. The demon had lit a candle in front of the moths and waited with interest for them. She even hoped that the other party was malicious, not this kind of… desperate “interest”.

Mora quickened her pace.

She thought they had to get out of here quickly. It wasn’t time to give up. After all, in any case, even if it was destined to be fruitless, they could only continue… Until one of them really loved someone else. What a peaceful relief that would be, but unfortunately, neither had been successful so far.

“Tela! Where did you just go?” the manager with glasses asked with discontent.

The research room was a mess, and people were clamoring. The light screen showing Oliver Ramon’s body data was enlarged, and all the red-robed researchers were squeezing hard in front of the light screen, looking like fresh blood foaming out from a wound from a distance.

“Toilet,” Telaranea said, slumping back into the stack of books. “Why? Are there any new discoveries?”

“That kid’s magic power is close to the upper limit of a surface creature. My God,” The old man in the red robe muttered in disbelief. “Although it’s not a situation that hasn’t happened before… But how old is he? And still a purebred human!”

“Study him slowly.” The demon was silent and didn’t intend to share his thoughts.

“I’ve got him. I’m still going through the procedures.” The manager of the test zone was flushed and rubbed his hand happily. “That test plan can continue again! Thank Zenni. I have taken over for so many years and no suitable materials have appeared.”

“…It’s obviously a blasphemous plan. Is it okay for you to thank him like this?” the old man in the red seized every opportunity to retort. “Tela, what say—”

“I don’t know anything.” The demon buried himself in a pile of books. “You can continue.”

When the two researchers turned their disappointed gaze away, the demon came out of the pile of books again.

“No, no. You just mentioned it not long ago! There wasn’t much space in the blood furnace, right?” The sloppy middle-aged man casually picked up the report from the pile of books. “If I were you, I would add a few more tests to make sure this person’s will is absolutely qualified.”

“Look at his miserable appearance. He hasn’t killed anyone even now. He’s qualified.”

“He’s not the first to insist like this. Let me see… Haven’t there been 1,326 people who have done this before? You threw them all into the furnace, and it turned out there wasn’t the slightest bit of progress.” The demon lazily waved the report in his hand.

The old man tugged at his beard and fell into contemplation.

Then he spoke, full of enthusiasm and eagerness in his tone, without the slightest bit of malice. “Tela is right,” he said excitedly. “After all, it’s valuable material… Then let’s add an extra one.”

“One-on-one. A battle of life and death. Who’s the strongest now besides Ramon? ……Very good, very good. If there’s an intersection, it would be great.”

Telaranea tugged at the corner of his mouth.

“It’ll take three days to go through the procedures in the combat zone, right? Then just three days later, let him and Randy Panther go alone.”

The Garland border at this moment.

Although it was already late at night, the border city of Noer was much livelier than before. Since the Border Forest had undergone changes, in addition to the army and visitors from various religions, adventurers had also come from thousands of miles to watch the excitement. The business around here was exceptionally good. Although the strange giant cocoon had appeared for a long time, there hadn’t been any bad effects—yet.

At first, some cowards hurriedly evacuated their belongings on their backs, but everything was still terribly peaceful. Except for a few stubborn people, most of them slipped back in frustration, determined to seize this precious opportunity to make money.

Those who were more courageous even dared to pull a cart close to the warning area of various religious groups.

The Border Forest was located on the border of Alban and Garland, making things a bit awkward. Fortunately, both countries support the same religion and had less friction with each other, so they didn’t care too much at this moment. The Preceptor Bishop of Alban took his Knights of Judgement to be stationed in Roadside Town, and in the past few days, countless arrays had been arranged around it.

The Knights of Judgement went around to persuade the people to evacuate, but unfortunately, because there was no strong factual support and the religious atmosphere in Roadside Town wasn’t strong, and because of the fact that the local townspeople had long been accustomed to running back and forth in warning of demon invasions, the number of evacuees was far less than the number of people watching the excitement.

Was it really a demon cocoon just because the Laddism Church said so? No one had ever seen a demon cocoon, but good business was right under their nose. In front of gold coins, no one was willing to stop for an ethereal guess.

Taking advantage of the chaos, the Black Chapter team, Tumbleweed, entered Roadside Town smoothly. Unfortunately, although the past few days had been smooth, the team wasn’t lively. Compared to their previous harmonious atmosphere, the conversation between teammates had fallen.

‘This wasn’t surprising,’ Nemo thought bitterly. He was consciously reducing the amount of time he spoke and staying away from his companions. His attitude made the others even more cautious.

With the information provided by Nemo, the female warrior and the knight commander went together to search for the Abyssal believer who had summoned the Deadwood Jellyfish. Jesse dragged the gray parrot to some unknown corner to buy something to eat.

And Nemo acted alone again.

He didn’t want to make time before their farewell so heavy, but Nemo knew it. It was useless to deepen feelings at this time. The two veteran fighters would soon be able to catch the culprit who summoned the Deadwood Jellyfish and send the criminal to where he really should be.

There were two tasks for him—to solve the problem of the demon cocoon and rescue Oliver.

Then he would leave them forever.

Nemo thought of countless possibilities, but each approach went the same way. To complete these two tasks, it was impossible for him not to be exposed. Even if he wasn’t the Demon King, he would be noticed by the outside world as a truly powerful superior demon.

At least in the end, he didn’t want to hurt his companions.

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

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?”

---

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.

---

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.

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Kinky Thoughts:

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

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

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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.

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